Jealousy Stings
by WayHotForHaught
Summary: Nicole finds herself hopelessly enamored by Waverly Earp. The thing is, Waverly doesn't feel the same. But will that change when Nicole's affections start to aim their way elsewhere? Will there be eyes opened or feelings suppressed?
1. Chapter 1

**Writer's Note**

Hi! I'm Chloe,

I used to write stories on here years ago, but always ended up giving up, but I'm back with a new found determination, and a burning need to have more Wayhaught fanfiction in my life, so here we are!

I would love to hear what you think, how I could improve, etc. I've had a long break from writing so I am rusty, hopefully with a little warm up, I'll get back into the swing of things.

Thank you for stopping by!

_

Chapter 1:

Nicole loved Shorty's. She loved that the little bar had such a warm energy, always welcoming in new people. She hadn't been in town too long but it didn't take long at all to realise that Shorty's had been a blessing to her, introducing her to so many amazing people.

She'd met Dolls and Wynonna first, the latter being a sassy badass hothead, but incredibly charming none the less, though not in a conventional way. Dolls went for more of a calm approach, he didn't speak too often, but when he did he had everyone feeling at home. He also matched Wynonna's sass, but it was much more subtle. Then there was Doc, he was certainly different, he had an old western look about him and spoke like he'd been around for hundreds of years, but he was such a respectful man with the kindest intentions, he managed to make a friend out of everyone he spoke to. Jeremy was a clumsy man but his heart was always in the right place, and although his inner nerd came out far more often than he clearly wanted it to, everyone found that this was a characteristic that made him the guy he is, and he was loved for it.

Then, there was Waverly. Waverly was Wynonna's younger sister, but they were truly opposites. She was the sweetest bundle of energy Nicole had ever met, and she had a heart of gold. She captured the hearts of everybody in the room too, though her being gorgeous also helped there. Don't underestimate her though, she could be fire-y when she wanted to be. Nicole heard that she once used a shotgun to scare off some unwanted company in the bar, though she ended up having to pay for the damage she caused due to shooting the gun at the ceiling. Wynonna said that the younger sister had been really sheepish about it, but that everyone found it to be so badass that nobody actually minded.

Nicole kind of adored her. And by kind of, she meant completely and utterly. Like, beyond the realm of friendship. It made it kind of hard to stay nonchalant with her though, because she was constantly trying not to confess just how much she liked the girl.

Friendship was great too though, don't get her wrong. She loved spending time with Waverly, she couldn't get enough, and luckily they were such a close group that the two spent most of their spare time together.

Times like this though? That's when Nicole really felt like she had to take a step back.

Waverly normally worked behind the bar at Shorty's, but she had the day off today so she had decided to really let her hair down. As well as slipping into the tightest dress Nicole had ever seen, hugging her in all the right places, and it really made concentrating so much harder than usual. Nicole kept having to drag her eyes away from the brunette, choosing to focus on anything else instead, just so she didn't get caught. She felt kind of bad because she was absolutely avoiding Waverly, the fear of getting caught staring all too real, and it wasn't fair on the other girl because she had no idea why.

She couldn't keep away from her all night though, Waverly simply wouldn't allow it.

Nicole was stood by the bar, sipping from the bottle of beer in her hand, choosing to observe the room rather than really include herself in any of the conversation. This didn't last though, because she noticed that Waverly was speed walking her way towards her, fast as a bullet, and before Nicole had the time to turn away and pretend to be busy, the shorter girl had stopped right in front of her, looking like a fuming little ball of fury.

"Oh hey Waverly, I'm sorry, I just need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back!" Nicole stated apologetically, starting to turn away, but the hand that fell on her arm stopped her, she gulped and turned back to Waverly. She looked down in shame, but that just brought her face to face with Waverly's gorgeous figure, which had Nicole's head shooting back up, flushed. She felt her pulse throughout the entirety of her body just by being this close to the brunette. She smiled nervously, waiting for Waverly to say something, anything to stop her eyes from wandering anymore.

"Have I done something wrong? You haven't spoken to me all day." Waverly asked, looking completely dejected, and Nicole wanted nothing more than to hug her. She almost did, but all the alarm bells were ringing, and they sounded an awful lot like they were saying 'Don't do it, this is too close as it is' which Nicole thought was probably very true, so she stopped herself. She frowned instead, angry at herself for hurting Waverly's feelings.

"Of course not, Waves. I've just been a bit distracted today, that's all." And although it was vague, it certainly wasn't a lie.

"Oh, what's wrong, is it anything I can help with?" the brunette asked hopefully, looking up at Nicole with the most adorable caring expression and all of it was really making Nicole feel things.

Nicole rested her back against the bar and sighed quietly, running her hand through her hair nervously, looking over at the other girl with a dejected look that must have rivaled the shorter girls earlier look. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak. "I'm not sure you can, it's something I have to deal with on my own." And that was all Nicole wanted to share, worried that even that was too much. "Anyway, what're-" Nicole started to change the subject, but a familiar voice interrupted her.

"Nicole?" Nicole's eyes widened, looking behind Waverly at the tall girl standing there with a small smile on her face, a look of surprise shining in her eyes. Nicole swept her eyes over the other woman, a slight grin making its way onto her face.

"Rosita!" Nicole exclaimed, gently pushing past Waverly and pulling the other woman into a tight embrace that she returned happily. "Man, it's been so long, where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, here and there" Rosita replied, grinning at Nicole and eyeing her up appreciatively, before turning to the shorter girl standing just behind her, frowning for a second before leaning forward and whispering "Is this your girl of the month?" though she wasn't whispering enough because they both heard Waverly squeak angrily. Nicole laughed nervously, blushing ever so slightly.

"Those days are over, Rosie. I'm not nineteen anymore, I can't get away with it" Nicole answered, laughing it off, hoping to move the conversation on quickly before Waverly asked questions.

"I don't believe that for a second, I know it's a small town, but the ladies must be gravitating towards you and your cute little hat" Rosita stated bluntly, flicking the Stetson on Nicole's head with a bright smile, blatantly flirting. Waverly just stood there behind them, arms crossed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and then back again, frustrated. "Cool that you're a cop, by the way, I bet that wins you some extra points too" She finished with a cheeky grin, and it only grew when she saw Nicole's cheeks turn a deep red, but her flirting was cut short my Waverly, who cleared her throat.

Nicole straightened herself suddenly, stumbling over her words a few times before finally calming down enough to say "This is Waverly, she's honestly just a friend" Nicole introduced, smoothly hiding the disappointment with a bright smile. Waverly's frown deepened, before she butted in.

"-Best friend" She clarified, smiling at Rosita, though it didn't reach her eyes.

Nicole nodded before continuing, "Waverly, this is Rosita, she and I used to be in college together, I haven't seen her in ages but clearly she's still got the mind of a nineteen year old. Somethings never change, huh?" Nicole said, turning back to Rosita with a laugh, Rosita elbowed her gently, before crossing her arms in mock anger, though it didn't last. Waverly huffed in frustration, turning to look at the other people around her, but she couldn't help herself, quickly turning back to the two women again.

"Anyway, I was just checking the place out, though I'd love to meet up soon, Nic. I'm around for a while, my grandma lives here. I'm looking after her. Small world, huh? So, plenty of time to meet up, catch up, have some fun.." The last sentence was said with a cheeky wiggle of her eyebrows, but Nicole just rolled her eyes. At this Waverly turned, grabbed Nicole's drink and finished it off, putting the empty bottle down on the bar, which Nicole noticed but didn't think too much about.

"Definitely, we can grab a coffee sometime, or come here for a drink, throw me a message. Do you still have my number" Nicole asked, and Rosita smiled.

"Of course, Nic." She said, smiling, softer this time. She then turned to Waverly and smiled, though it was a smaller one this time, one that lacked warmth, before turning away and leaving the bar. Nicole watched her go with a shake of her head, before turning back to Waverly. The girl seemed irritated, her arms were crossed over her chest while her eyes stayed glued to the door, her tongue pushing against her cheek and frowning deeply.

"Hey" Nicole started, her own smile falling from her face, she reached for Waverly's arm, resting it there, "I'm sorry, that must've been kind of awkward for you, I didn't mean to put you in that situation." Nicole finished, apologetically. She really did feel bad, she should have included the shorter girl more than she did, but she was just so thrown off. Waverly looked up at her, the frown deepening slightly before she let it fall from her face, smiling, though it didn't seem to meet her eyes.

"She seemed nice. Funny that she thought that we were dating, huh?" She laughed, but it sounded strained. Nicole knew exactly what that meant, she wasn't foolish. Waverly was uncomfortable at the thought of it. Nicole looked down, feeling like somebody had punched her in the gut. She looked back up at Waverly, a small reassuring smile on her face.

"It's okay, I'll make sure to make it clear that we're just friends. She gets ahead of herself." Nicole stated, looking around the room, shuffling awkwardly. She didn't feel much like staying anymore, she felt quite sick. She wanted nothing more than to just roll into bed and snuggle up with her cat, maybe cry a bit too. She looked back over at Waverly once more, "I think I'm going to make a move, can you tell everyone I said goodbye?" Nicole said, only waiting for Waverly to nod before turning away and making a beeline for the door, not noticing that the frown Waverly had earlier had returned, though it wasn't laced with irritation, just sadness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Writer's Notes:**

Hello again,  
Reviews would be amazing, I love knowing if I'm making progress and how I can improve, so please don't hesitate!  
I did proof read this but it's 7AM and I haven't slept yet so please be forgiving.  
I hope you like what this chapter brings!

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

Nicole had been hibernating in her house for a few days, only leaving to go to work, though she spent most of that at the office, so really she had hardly felt fresh air in far too long. She was in her pyjamas, snuggling with Calamity Jane the cat watching shows on TV. She didn't plan on going anywhere, so she had thrown her hair up in a messy bun and wore shorts and a vest. The last thing she expected was a knock on her door. Her cat jumped off the sofa grumpily when Nicole made her way over to the door, choosing instead to sulk in the kitchen. When Nicole opened the door, her eyes bulged out of her head, not expecting both the Earp sisters to be on the other side of it, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, before stepping aside and silently letting them both in. Wynonna entered first, Waverly following behind, though Nicole noticed that she was much more hesitant. Nicole sighed. They hadn't spoken since Nicole had realised that Waverly was visibly uncomfortable when Rosita suggested they were dating. It still hurt her, but she had to get over it. Waverly was straight, of course she'd find the notion strange.

"Woah Haught, you make rough look good!" Wynonna exclaimed appreciatively, wracking her eyes over Nicole's body before grinning at her with a wink, she turned to her sister before asking her, "Don't you think, Waves?" Which made Nicole turn towards the shorter girl too, noticing that she seemed to have spaced out, though hearing her name snapped her out of it.

"Huh? Oh-" She looked at Nicole's face, before stuttering out a quiet "Sure." though it's clear to Nicole that she didn't want to say that, this added to Nicole's sadness, that conversation had made Waverly much more uncomfortable than Nicole had realised.

"Anyway, we're getting fucked tonight, wanna join?" Wynonna said, extending the offer, though it made Nicole flush, momentarily misunderstanding her "Oh Christ Nicole, I meant drinks, get a hold of yourself" She commented, rolling her eyes. Nicole's cheeks only reddened more at the remark.

"At Shorty's?" Nicole asked her, though she really wasn't feeling like going out at all.

"No, I want to go all out, we're hitting a club, Haught Stuff!" Wynonna shouted, excitedly. "You also haven't actually got a choice, so just smile and nod" She finished seriously. Nicole had no choice. She groaned, threw a glare Wynonna's way before giving her the biggest fake smile she could, giving her an extremely exaggerated nod. Wynonna only laughed.

"Hey" Nicole said, an idea surfacing, "Can I bring someone along?" Nicole asked, thinking of that catch up she promised Rosita a few nights ago.

"A date? Look at you go, Haught! Maybe you're not quite so boring after all!" Wynonna cheered, before she began pulling a frowning Waverly back out the door, turning quickly to throw a "Pick you up at 6" her way, Nicole only threw her a thumps up in acknowledgement, before watching Wynonna slam the door shut unnecessarily.

Nicole picked her phone up, running through her contacts before landing on her old friend's name.

'Hey Rosie, want to have that catch up tonight?' she wrote, before sending the text. She didn't have to wait long for a reply.

'You know I'm down, Hot' She sent back, and Nicole laughed, getting herself ready for the night ahead. She hoped that maybe she could talk to Waverly and reassure her once again that Rosita was only messing around about that comment, she also hoped that Waverly didn't get too dressed up tonight or she just knew she'd never get any of those words out.

****

The club was busy, and hot. She had only been there for five minutes and had already had to brush up against 20 people just to get to the bar. She decided to go all out tonight, wearing a short tight black dress that flowed at the bottom and showed off just enough of her legs to tease anyone who noticed. She wore her short hair down, letting it rest naturally against her shoulders, a slight wave to it. And she had to admit, she felt good.

Although Wynonna said she'd pick her up, she messaged Nicole telling her that she'd started their party a little early so couldn't drive, though Nicole wasn't surprised, she borrowed a lift from one of the guys at work instead. He didn't mind, especially when he saw Nicole.

Boys.

A girl had decided to hit on Nicole while she waited at the bar for her friends, and though Nicole made it clear that she wasn't interested, the girl continued. Nicole isn't blind, the girl is very beautiful, but she just didn't feel very attracted to her. The girl insisted, dragging her hands across Nicole's arms softly, complimenting her endlessly. Nicole didn't want to get irritated, but the girl wasn't getting the message.

Suddenly she heard Wynonna and Waverly behind her, "This girl causing you trouble, Haught" Wynonna asked, moving to intimidate the woman. Nicole hesitated, not knowing what to say, she wasn't good with these kinds of situations.

"She's fine, obviously." The girl snapped, irritated with the new company. Waverly moved closer this time, putting her back to the girl and facing Nicole fully, putting her hand on her upper arm and squeezing, encouragingly

"Honestly, we can make her go." Which irritated the girl further, she huffed, before turning Waverly around herself, sneering at her bitterly.

"What are you, her girlfriend or something?" She spat, looking Waverly up and down with a look of pure distain.

Waverly frowned, and it made Nicole panic, she knew Waverly found it uncomfortable the last time something like this was suggested. "N-No, she's not!" Nicole threw out quickly, hoping to fix the situation before it got awkward again. Waverly looked at her, and Nicole really couldn't read what the look meant, but it wasn't the relief she had expected.

"Actually, she's with me." All of them looked over and saw Rosita standing there, raising her eyebrow at the new face. "So you better back off, before I make you." She finished, wrapping her arm around Nicole's waist, daring the girl to challenge her. The girl looked like she might, but thought better of it. She puffed out a breath, throwing her hands up in the air, before sauntering away. Nicole grinned, turning to Rosita with an impressed smile.

"Girl, you got game!" Wynonna yelled, high-fiving Rosita with a grin that she happily returned. Nicole turned to Waverly, but she was closed off again, looking off into the crowd instead. Nicole moved forward, reaching her hand out to nudge Waverly slightly, smiling hesitantly. Waverly returned the smile, looking at Nicole before moving to look down at her feet, shuffling them slightly. Nicole's smile fell off her face, she didn't understand what was happening.

Suddenly Wynonna was thrusting shots in both the girl's hands, before yelling "To Rosita; The Brave!" throwing her head back and knocking the shot down, Rosita laughed and did the same. Nicole threw hers down with a grimace. Waverly muttered angrily to herself before throwing her own shot in her mouth, not even flinching.

They were about five shots in now, and everyone was feeling pretty buzzed. Dolls, Doc and Jeremy had joined them not long after their first shot and everyone was having a good time. Well, everyone except Waverly, who had a sour look on her face, the same one she wore all night. Wynonna had made a few digs throughout the night, hoping to knock Waverly out of it, but it hadn't worked, so Wynonna stopped pushing.

"Okay, my round!" Rosita said, removing her arm from where it rested around Nicole in the booth, moving to the bar. Nicole was having a great night, she was really glad that she had invited Rosita, she seemed to be getting on with everyone great, they all had the same sarcastic sense of humour so it worked perfectly. Nicole looked over at Waverly, who had been sat on the end of the table, and just as she did the girl stood up and climbed over Wynonna and Jeremy, plonking herself down next to Nicole with a huff, causing her to laugh in confusion.

"You okay there, Waves?" she asked the smaller girl with a grin, "You just about stepped on everybody there?" She stated, laughing a little.

The younger Earp just huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in anger, glaring at Nicole before leaning closer to her and snapping, "You've hardly bothered to talk to me." Which made the laughter die in Nicole's throat. "I have to force myself into your company for you to care. Here I am. So, care." She finished, sounding angrier and angrier with every word. Nicole gulped. She leaned into Waverly too, so she'd hear her. The close proximity made her nervous though.

"Waves, I haven't ignored you on purpose. You were just over there, and it's loud in here. If I yelled over the table, you still wouldn't hear me." The Redhead stated, defending herself. It really wasn't her intention to upset the girl.

"But you normally look at me, like, all the time. You've hardly looked at me at all!" Waverly yelled, and Nicole could hear that the drink was effecting her, and that she was really upset, she just didn't really understand why. "And you keep" Waverly started, but quickly snapped her mouth shut, choosing not to finish.

"Keep what?" Nicole asked.

"Nothing.." Waverly hesitated, looking over at Nicole. "Nothing." She repeated, with more finality.

It was at this moment that Rosita returned, eyeing up her stolen seat, before looking at Nicole "Replaced me already?" She joked, winking at the officer, teasing her.

"There's enough of me to go around, don't worry." Nicole shot back with a grin, laughing at Rosita's eye roll. Nicole felt Waverly shift next to her, and hit her knee on the table in shock when she felt Waverly put her hand on Nicole's other knee. "Shit!" She cried out, in pain, shooting everyone a sheepish smile, a blush tainting her cheeks at the reason for her outburst. Waverly squeezed her knee, cuddling up to her side, showing no signs of moving.

It was genuinely torture.

She felt her whole body heat up, having her so close. It made her feel guilty too though, knowing that she had feelings for the shorter girl, and knowing that although it was a simple touch for Waverly, it had a very different effect on Nicole. She felt like Waverly should know how she felt.

****

"Let's dance!" Wynonna shouted suddenly, shooting up and ushering everyone over to the dance floor. Nicole wasn't a terrible dancer, but she wasn't the best either. You know what made it worse though? Having Waverly dancing in the same space as her. How could someone be so cute and so sexy all at once? She was shaking her hips to the beat in this way that just does things to Nicole. She sucked in a breath and gulped, trying to focus on her own swaying.

Rosita starts dancing with her, and it's not necessarily sexual, but it's close and flirty, which is enough to help Nicole gain her confidence enough to dance a bit more sensually. Suddenly Doc is pulling Rosita away and Nicole's arm is being pulled just enough to spin her around, bringing her face to face with a grinning Waverly. "Hey Waves" She croaks out, and she can tell that her voice is dripping in nervousness.

"Hey Nicole" Waverly greets, but it's said in this way that just hits somewhere right in the pit of Nicole's stomach, and suddenly Nicole's eyes are closing because it's just a bit too much to handle, she can't look Waverly in the eye, knowing that hers would be dark with blown pupils. She suddenly feels soft, small hands on her waist, coaxing her to dance more. She opens her eyes and looks at Waverly, smiling in disbelieve, shaking her head slightly in confusion before looking down. It's a bad idea because then she's looking at how close their bodies are to each other, without quite being close enough. It makes her want to groan in frustration, but then Waverly's nudging Nicole's arms to rest around her neck and it all just seems so intimate that it makes Nicole lose her breath. She can't help but play with the small hairs on the back of Waverly's neck, which seems to make the smaller girls head shoot up to look back at her, although the look on her face is one she just can't read. Her hips stopped swaying, and her hands began to play with the material covering Nicole's waist, almost like she was stroking it, stroking her. Waverly looks confused now, and she's scanning her eyes over the whole of Nicole's face like she wants an answer, but Nicole really isn't sure what the question is.

They needed a change of pace. Immediately. Nicole took a deep breath, steadying her heart rate, before deciding to approach the conversation she had avoided all night. "Waves, I've been meaning to talk to you" Nicole starts, looking into Waverly's eyes, and for a moment she saw a flash of _something_ , which made her pause, because it looked a lot like hope, but for what, Nicole wasn't sure. "When Rosita questioned if we were dating, it was because I got with a lot of girls when I was younger. Rosita always watched it happen, she watched as I went from one to the next. What she said- I'm really sorry it made you uncomfortable, I think she just figured that I might still be the girl I was back in college, hooking up with every girl I see." Nicole ranted, worried. She didn't want to say it wrong. "But, uhm, yeah. I'm sorry. I cleared it up, so she won't suggest that again, so you don't have to worry." Nicole finished, biting her lip nervously. She really wasn't sure that was the right thing to say because Waverly's brows had knitted together and she looked completely disheartened. She pulled away suddenly, looking up at Nicole like she had just kicked a kitten, before she turned and weaved her way through the crowd, out of sight. The redhead was really confused because she had believed that she was doing the right thing.

She didn't know if it'd be a good idea to go after Waverly or not, but she figured the girl leaving meant she wanted a little space, so she decided to approach her later on in the night instead. She made her way back to their booth, shaking off Rosita's offer to dance in favor of sulking in the corner. She really was just messing everything up, she gently hit her forehead on the table in front of her, refusing to sit back up again. This wasn't what she meant when she said a change of pace.

"What a mess."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"I was starting to doubt whether you actually existed or if maybe I'd made up an imaginary friend when I was little!" The voice joked over the phone, Nicole rolled her eyes, but she smiled despite herself.

"You moved away first, remember?" Nicole shot back, though she was laughing. "It hasn't been that long, has it?" She questioned, though since Nancy, Nicole's sister, had moved away and started her own family, she didn't visit home much, Nicole hadn't either so it had been a good few years.

"We need to get better at arranging visits at the same time!" Nicole hummed in acknowledgement, there was a silence on the other line that told Nicole that she hadn't just called up for a catch up. "Sooo, we're all coming to visit you, in a couple of weeks." Nicole's eye's widened, "We knew if we asked, you would have found an excuse, but Mama and Daddy both miss you." Nicole was groaning in protest on the other end of the line.

"But they just always complain, nothing is good enough, I'm going to have to dust everywhere. Ugh." Nicole's mind was going a mile a minute, looking around her home, trying to see it through her parent's eyes.

"Yeah, about that…" Nancy trailed off, and Nicole just knew what was coming. "Mama's been going on about you not settling down ever since we booked the flight. She won't quit…"

Nicole wasn't surprised. The excitement of her younger years really had caught up with her, her Mama just couldn't let it go. She didn't believe that Nicole would ever settle down, and maybe that's why she had neglected to visit them more over the last year or so of living in Purgatory. She did feel bad about it, but she also knew that the more she turned up alone, the more it disheartened her Mama. Nicole wasn't doing it on purpose, but she had never met anybody she wanted to settle down with.

"So, I wondered" Nancy continued, "Can't you just, I don't know, pretend that you have someone?"

Nicole's mind went blank.

"It's only for a week, and they only have to see them the once! Just enough to persuade them that you're a changed women, I'm just so sick of having it in my ear about you and your many relationships!" The women squeaked, exasperated. "Please, please, please, please-"

"Nancy, stop!" Nicole interrupted, knowing that she wouldn't shut up otherwise. She thought about it, who could she ask?

Obviously, her first thought was Waverly. She would be the perfect person to ask, everybody loved her for a reason. But, that had its complications. One, Nicole's secret crush. The thought of acting like they were together, potentially holding hands and talking about how they got together, while Nicole knew it actually wasn't true.. It'd be crushing. Along with the fact that Waverly was clearly so shook up by both Rosita and that girl in the club suggesting that they were dating. She didn't want to cause any more upset and she certainly didn't want to put more of a strain on their friendship either. It really wasn't an option. It wouldn't be fair to ask her.

She could ask Wynonna though, she'd probably say yes, her family certainly wouldn't expect that match though. Rosita was probably a slightly better idea, but still not the person Nicole thought she'd be likely to introduce to her parent's. Waverly was the only person she pictured herself doing that with.

Nicole reminded herself once more that the short brunette really wasn't an option. Wynonna or Rosita would have to do.

"I'll work on it" Nicole reassured, sighing.

****

Nicole found herself at Shorty's asking Waverly to keep them topped up on shots in order to help her persuade one of them to go along with her idea. Waverly hardly replied to her though, only throwing the shots her way before walking to serve other people instead. It really felt like a new kind of low for her to hit.

"Please, can't one of you just take one for the team?" Nicole begged, feeling more and more embarrassed with every plea that flew out of her mouth. Both girls were laughing at the state Nicole had gotten herself into.

"Well, do I get something out of it?" Rosita asked, winking suggestively and waggling her eyebrows at her. All three jumped when they heard Waverly slam a glass down a little harder than necessary.

"She's been shitty for days now, I don't get it." Wynonna said, stealing a shot from the bar. "Anyway, I'm going to be the one to point out how flawed your plan is, Haught Stuff. Your parent's will never believe you've settled down if you drag one of us over to them. Do I look like marriage material to you? Does Rosita?" She raised her eyebrows and poured yet another shot, throwing it down her throat. "I'm going to pass on this one." She stated. She made a good point, Nicole knew that, but she doesn't want to see the look on her parents faces. Nicole slumped down, resting her head on the table.

"I mean, I could do it if you really" Rosita started to speak, but was interrupted before she could finish.

"I'll do it." Nicole's head shot up in surprise, looking completely taken back. Waverly had offered, looking completely serious, though slightly frantic. Nicole didn't understand, Waverly had been so standoffish after Rosita had insinuated that they were together, so why would she offer to do just that? It was fake, which is the difference, but Nicole was so worried that this would cause their friendship to become awkward, and she really didn't want that.

"You don't have to do that, Waves. I can figure something out." Nicole reassured her, giving her a kind smile for offering. Waverly huffed, threw her hands up in exasperation and moved to the opposite side of the bar. All three looked on, baffled.

"Why'd you turn her down, Nicole?" Wynonna questioned, grabbing a packet of peanuts from behind the bar, emptying half the contents into her mouth. "I think we all know that she's the perfect choice out of the three options you have. Heck, best option in town, old people love her. " She stated, spitting peanuts as she did. Nicole grimaced, before looking over at Waverly. She sighed, knowing Wynonna was right, but worry niggling in her mind. She lifted herself up out of the chair taking the shot Wynonna had just poured herself, before necking it and heading over to Waverly, ignoring the many insults Wynonna threw her way in the process.

****

"Hey" Nicole started, biting her lip nervously. Waverly looked her way, her eyes meeting hers before flickering down to the movement the red heads mouth was making, then suddenly going back to cleaning glasses. "I didn't mean to upset you, I really did appreciate the offer. I just thought you felt like you had to." Nicole assured her. "If you want, you can." But Waverly must have picked up on the hesitation in Nicole's voice, because suddenly she swung around, finger pointed at Nicole.

"Why is it so crazy that I'd be the person you date? Why would my sister and Rosita be better? I'm the town's favourite person, they took a vote. It's actually official! I get that you're really beautiful and all but would it really be so embarrassing to have me be the person your parents think you date?" Waverly fumed, completely hysterical, arms flying around in anger, frown stuck in place. Nicole was worried that the shot gun might come out in a minute if she didn't hastily calm her down.

"Waves" Nicole whispered, she felt terrible. She leant her arms on the bar so that she was a little closer, "You're the perfect person for it, I just.." Nicole trailed off, seeing Wynonna subtly waving at her to get her attention, shaking her head at Nicole to tell her to shut up and stop making excuses, Nicole changed direction, "You're perfect, they'd love you. And, if you're still up for it, I'd really appreciate it if you helped me out." Nicole offered, smiling.

Waverly's frown lessened slightly, but Nicole knew she was still pretty angry. "Okay." Was all Waverly said before she turned back around and continued to wash glasses, leaving Nicole no choice but to walk back over to Wynonna and Rosita who both just laughed at her and poured her another shot.

****

Nicole wasn't going to lie, she was pretty tipsy right now. Wynonna was throwing drinks her way left, right and centre. And, Nicole was definitely feeling the effects. She knew, because it was getting increasingly hard not to look at Waverly. She'd finished work about an hour ago and had decided to join the other three, despite their argument earlier. Nicole simultaneously loved and hated that all her clothes were tight, and always left a gap between her shorts and her shirt because the only thing Nicole's eyes would focus on is that little slither of skin. Waverly didn't even look at Nicole, clearly still upset, but it was still nice to have her there. She wasn't sure how fake dating her would be if she wouldn't even look at her though.

"Nicooooole!" Rosita shouted, throwing her arms around Nicole's neck. She was definitely far more intoxicated than Nicole was, her close proximity gave that away. "Why don't you and I have some fun, like we used to?" She slurred, moving closer, nibbling on Nicole's ear ever so slightly. Nicole laughed, nudging Rosita away slightly.

"I'm settling down now Rosie, remember? Changed women and all that." Nicole retorted, grinning over at Rosita. She felt eyes on her, and when she turned her head slightly she caught Waverly eye, she tried out a smile, hoping that Waverly would return it. Although the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, she didn't really look very happy. But she also didn't look angry anymore, which was a good sign, right?

"I don't believe that for one second, Hot. You were the life of the party, in eeeeevery way." She yelled, toying with the ends of Nicole's hair, blatantly flirting. Nicole turned her head back to Waverly, nodding her head over at Rosita's direction and rolling her eyes. Waverly's smile grew a bit more, which had Nicole grinning. Nicole's eyes shot open though when she felt Rosita begin to run her hands down the side of her body, before drifting towards her chest, she didn't know whether to laugh or push her away. Waverly saw too, she frowned and turned to Wynonna, whispering something in her ear. Wynonna stood up suddenly and turned to Nicole, smirking at the position she had gotten herself into.

"Rosita, I know Nicole definitely needs to get laid but you and I are going to go get sobered up. And by 'you and I', I absolutely mean just you." She said, before tugging Rosita up and pulling her away from the other two girls. Waverly had stood up, arms crossed, but the smile on her face was bright and beautiful. Nicole hadn't realised how much she missed that. It sent her heart racing and her stomach flipping. Waverly made her way over, perching down on the seat next to Nicole, who smiled just as brightly back at her. The shorter girls smile wavered slightly, before she opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry, you know. About earlier. I didn't mean to go off so badly." She said, regretfully. "I just.. You didn't think to ask me, and it really got to me. I wanted to be good enough too, as crazy as it sounds." Waverly looked down, her smile gone, her eyes looking sad.

"It's okay, Waves. I'm sorry I upset you, I didn't mean to. I just.. I thought you wouldn't like the idea. You reacted so badly to Rosita suggesting you and I were together, I thought the last thing you'd want is for me to ask us to fake date." Nicole answered truthfully, hoping it wasn't a mistake bringing it up.

"I don't have a problem, at all! You were just so.. chummy with Rosita. I felt kinda left out, that's all" Waverly insisted, smiling up at her apologetically, though it felt like she was holding something back. Nicole smiled back. "We're kind of messes, huh?" She laughed, putting her head in her hands jokingly.

"Oh totally, you're worse though" Nicole answered with a wink, nudging the brunette next to her. They were both laughing now, and it was the biggest relief to Nicole. She missed this. She missed her.

"Rude." She shot back, with a fake gasp. She smiled, and it was adorable. There were no teeth, but her mouth curled up in this way that made her look so, so content. Nicole felt her whole body warm up with affection for the girl next to her. She started talking again and Nicole stopped laughing.

"So, when're we going to work on this fake dating plan?"

Nicole gulped. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Nicole liked her quiet nights in, she liked snuggling with Calamity Jane, she liked wearing messy clothes and eating takeaways, she liked watching whatever stupid program was on at the time. Quiet nights in were perfect, in her book. Nothing could beat it.

So imagine her surprise when she found Waverly Earp hijacking her night, onesies and cupcakes in hand, an excited grin on her face, standing outside Nicole's flat.

"Hi, Waves? What're you doing here?" Nicole questioned, eyes flickering from the cakes, to the onesies, then to Waverly with a raised eyebrow. Waverly simply smiled before bouncing past Nicole and into the living room, throwing the things in her hands on to the coffee table in front of the sofa before plopping down with a huff.

"We need to plan what we do and say when your parents come, Nicole." Waverly told her, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You know me, I'm a planner. We're going to be the best couple ever. Oh- fake! Fake couple, of course!" She stuttered, fidgeting with her hands, before looking over at the coffee table, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "And what better way than to talk over cake! I also brought onesies, it'll be cute!" Waverly exclaimed, blushing slightly, looking back down at her hands. "I never really had days like this when I was younger, and what better way to start, than with you? Uh- because we're friends! Best friends!" Waverly yelped, looking completely flustered. Nicole let out a hearty laugh, closing the front door and walking over to the girl in front of her.

"A simple 'let's hang out' would have sufficed." The redhead joked, but she made a move to sit on the sofa next to the shorter woman.

"Nu-uh!" Waverly protested, "You've gotta go put this on, silly!" She said, reaching for the clothing on the coffee table and handing it over to Nicole with a grin, completely serious.

Nicole took it out of Waverly's hands with a frown, "You know I won't fit into your clothes, right?" Nicole pointed out, but Waverly only laughed.

"I already thought about it, and after a lot of protests, Wynonna said you could borrow hers, though she followed the offer up with a 'If Haughtshot tells anyone I own one I'll throw her down a well and cover the exit up. Don't test me.' But I'm pretty sure she's joking.." Waverly trailed off, frowning, before shaking her head and turning back to Nicole, "But you best not say anything, just in case." She finished with a laugh, pushing Nicole towards her room insistently, and without further complaint, Nicole made her way to her room, onesie in hand, a small smile on her face.

****

Honestly? Nicole felt ridiculous. She was dressed up like a bunny, she had ears, a fluffy tummy and a little ball as a tail for good measure. The ears kept flopping into her face, so every now and then she'd have to flick them out of the way. The smile on Waverly's face when she walked out the room though? That made it so, so worth it. "You look adorable!" Waverly shouted, smiling from ear to ear. But Nicole's outfit didn't hold a candle to Waverly's. The latter had a bright green dinosaur onesie, with all the spikes on the back, a long pointed tail and her hood was a head with teeth on it. Nicole was pretty jealous.

"I think I should be wearing that one" Nicole stated with a huff, though a smile was stuck on her face despite herself. Waverly shook her head in protest, walking over to Nicole and tapping her on the nose.

"Nope, I like it, it's cute." She complimented, smiling so bright that her nose scrunched up. It was the most endearing thing Nicole had ever seen. "Anyway! Sit, sit, sit! We have a bunch to do!"

Waverly grabbed her hand and tugged her over to the sofa, the gesture was simple and innocent, but it left the whole of Nicole's arm tingling and her stomach fluttering. She smiled to herself, enjoying this attention. They don't usually spend so much time together without the other's being there too, so this was a welcomed change. Nicole would wear a bunny onesie any day if it meant also having Waverly with her.

"What should I expect, what are your family like?" Waverly asked, diving straight in the deep end. Nicole hesitated, it's not that she didn't like talking about them, it's that talking about them reminded her of how little she sees them, which makes her feel a little sad.

"Well, Mama can be a tough cookie, it takes her a while to decide if she likes a person, but once she does, you're best friends for life. She's a softy after that, she'll pry though. She'll want to know everything that brought you to where you are now, she looooves questions, so you should get on like a house on fire." Nicole paused to wink at Waverly. "And Daddy is easily pleased, if you like a beer and discovery channels, you're set." Nicole stopped once again, squinting her eyes slightly in thought, before opening them wide and looking off into the distance. "God, they are going to love you so much." Nicole whispered, realising just how perfect Waverly was, though a hint of sadness niggling somewhere there, knowing that it wasn't real. It made Nicole feel bad, knowing she'd be bringing someone round that her parents would adore, knowing that in the end they would have to be told that the two were no longer together. Nicole couldn't lie forever.

"And, your sister?" Waverly asked, changing directions, seeing that something had bothered Nicole about the subject they had been on.

"Oh, she's a joker. I wouldn't mind betting that she and Wynonna would become the best of friends. She'll know that it's not real though, so you don't have to prove anything to her, don't worry. She has a husband, James, and two amazing kids, Thomas and Jane. I'm not sure if they're coming, though. It'll probably just be Nancy." Nicole said, though she really had no idea, none of her family had filled her in at all "Really, you only need to be there the once, I'm not asking you to spend the whole week pretending with me." She reminded Waverly, wanting to make sure she knew that there was no pressure.

"With the way you just described your Mama, I don't think there's a chance of that happening." Waverly joked, laughing, before continuing. "Besides, I don't mind, I'm excited to meet them, it'll be so fascinating to see the people that influenced you and built you up into the person you are now, and you're wonderful, so they must be pretty great." She grinned, and damn it, Nicole felt the butterflies flutter through the whole of her body. This girl is going to kill her.

Waverly suddenly jumped up and made her way over to the fridge. She reached in and grabbed a beer, before moving to the draw next to it to grab a bottle opener, flicking the bottle cap off and moving the bottle to her mouth.

Nicole had turned her whole body around to watch what Waverly was doing, resting her arms on the back of the sofa and her head on her arms, just peering over towards the kitchen. She hadn't intended on staring, but seeing Waverly wonder around her home like it was second nature was warming her heart up and sending her mind into a frenzy. This was all so dangerous. She liked this girl far too much for this plan to be healthy in the long run. In that moment, Waverly looked back towards the other woman and must have realised that she hadn't asked, because she was suddenly looking really sheepish.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think! I-I don't even know what had me thinking it was okay to just come into your home and act like I'd moved in.. I'm-I'm sooo sorry Nicole." Waverly apologised, looking really put out, putting the drink on the kitchen counter, acting as if it had scolded her.

"No, it's okay, Waves. What's mine is yours, help yourself." Nicole reassured, turning back around so she could control her breathing. Calamity Jane walked out of the bedroom then, heading over to Waverly and nudging her with her forehead.

"Hey, CJ!" Waverly cooed, and Nicole thought the world might just be mocking her at this point. "Do you want some food? Come on, cutie!" Waverly said, putting some fresh food down for the cat, who meowed her thanks, "Oooh that's okay, good girl!" Waverly squealed, excited. "I love this cat!" She told Nicole, though she was already aware of this, Waverly insisted on showing Calamity Jane affection anytime she visited. The redhead was certain that CJ liked Waverly more than her, but she couldn't really blame her for that. "So.." Waverly started, and Nicole knew that this was the more awkward part of their conversation, so she let the shorter woman control where the topic went. "Boundary wise.. What is the plan?" She finished, hesitant.

"The ball will always be in your court there, Waves. Nothing you're uncomfortable with." Nicole stated with confidence, knowing that one of them had to be, though she definitely didn't feel the same inside.

"We both need to be okay, though. Not just me." And she was right, but Nicole had no problems with anything that was said, or done. The only problem was that it wasn't real.

"Well, I can adapt pretty well, I've been with women before. This is new for you, so you need to figure out where you stand, what you can and can't do. There is no pressure, I mean it. And, if you're finding the situation awkward, I can find someone-"

"No! I mean- I- No, it's okay. I can do it, I just- I might need to work on it." Waverly said, and Nicole wasn't too sure what that meant, but she decided to just nod and let Waverly take the reins on this one.

****

'Ding Dong'

"Food!" Was all Waverly said before she was scrambling to get to the door, Nicole following behind, laughing as she went. Waverly happily took the pizzas out of the delivery man's hand, practically sprinting to the coffee table to get everything out and start eating. Nicole gave the man the money and tipped him too, before heading over to the food too.

"You're like a kid at Christmas right now, huh?" The taller woman laughed, smiling down at Waverly, who had inhaled half a slice of pizza in one go.

"It's pizza, Nicole. What did you expect?" She questioned, disapprovingly. She glared at Nicole before going back to happily eating her food. Nicole laughed once more before settling down and eating her own pizza.

This whole night had been overwhelming, to say the least. They had chatted the whole time, about everything and anything. It really was so nice. Yet so stressful, too. Being this close to Waverly really sent the whole of her body into overdrive, she felt like she was constantly trying to hold a part of herself back in order to not give her feelings away.

Nicole couldn't shake the little thought in her head away, the one saying that this felt so much like a date. She wasn't going to torture herself with those thoughts, because if she started, she'd never stop, and it'd make things awkward.

"Hey, why aren't you eating?" Waverly asked, nudging her side with her elbow while simultaneously eating a slice of pizza. Nicole looked over at her and smiled, before looking down at her hands, finally settling on the pizza in front of her. She grabbed a slice and took a bite, allowing her thoughts to quieten down for now, letting herself just enjoy this moment.

They were quiet for a while, both focussing on eating, but it wasn't long until the silence was broken.

"Did you and Rosita date, back then?" Waverly asked, causing Nicole to look over. This question seemed like it had wanted to come out for a while, and she looked really nervous to have asked, but also seemed like she really wanted to know.

"We didn't date, per say.." Nicole trailed off, hoping that Waverly would take that answer as good enough and move on, but she wasn't so lucky. Waverly was watching her, waiting for her to continue, so she sighed and looked down. "We would mess around, have some fun. I didn't want to settle down, she didn't either. It worked. Neither of us were clinging onto the other, it was a straightforward thing, and we were best friends too. If one of us needed company, the other would be there. It wasn't dating." Nicole finished, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

"So, friends with benefits?" Waverly asked, and Nicole nodded. "No feelings?" She continued, and Nicole paused. It wasn't love, for sure. But it wasn't nothing. They comforted each other, but it wasn't laced with anything else.

"We weren't in love." Nicole said, and she supposed that was enough, because although Waverly was frowning, and although she seemed like she wanted to ask more, she nodded.

"Can I have a slice of your pizza? You can have some of mine." Waverly asked, and just like that, the tension vanished. Nicole smiled, offering the box over to her, and taking one of hers in the process.

Nicole did really love a quiet night. But she would give every single one of those nights away if it meant that she got a night like this in return.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Nicole pushed her way through the door to Shorty's with a huff, looking over the whole room, before making her way straight to the bar. She sat herself down onto a stall and ordered a beer. She lifted her hand up to her Stetson and tilted it down, effectively hiding herself in order to keep people away. It had been a really long, boring shift at the station, so she really wasn't in the mood to talk.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, at first it was a firm touch, but then it lost its heaviness and instead faded into just fingers that trailed towards the back of her neck, before following it to her other shoulder in the most delicate away. It was slow, and it caused Nicole to shiver. Her whole body reacted to the sweet smell of candyfloss, knowing just who it was beside her. This knowledge had her stomach flipping nervously and her breath hitching. The fingers trailed down her shoulder, to her forearm, where she lingered, before curling her fingers around it and squeezing, film but delicate.

"Hey, you." It was sweet, but suggestion hung in the air. Nicole tilted her head up and turned to look over at the hand on her arm, it was tiny and dainty and it made her heart swell. Her eyes trailed from her hand, to her muscular arms and up her shoulder before landing on a shy grin, one she knew was deliberately used to charm. This is what confused Nicole, Waverly had never acted like this before, not with her, it almost seemed like flirting.

"Hey.. What's happening?" Nicole asked, looking around suspiciously before her eyes fell back onto Waverly, who seemed to falter, before her smile returned.

"I'm 'working on it', like I said I would. I figure, we're going to have to do this when your family are here, so I best get some practice in. Do you.. I mean, how am I doing?" She asked, and Nicole could clearly see that she was worried about her answer, but she didn't know what she could say that wouldn't suggest that she liked her more than she should. Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it nervously, her eyes struggling to focus on Waverly's prying gaze.

"You're doing good." Was the sentence Nicole settled on saying, because 'You're definitely getting me going so no complaints here' definitely didn't seem like a wise choice of words.

"Yeah? Are you okay with it?" Waverly asked, concern evident, but it seemed like insecurity lingered in the question too.

"If you're okay, I'm okay." Was Nicole's response, smiling at the other woman to reassure her. Waverly smiled back, softly.

The moment was interrupted by a large thud and a shout of "I want shots! Who's buying?", and Nicole wasn't surprised to find that it was Wynonna, along with Doc and Rosita, strutting over to them. She shook her head, rolling her eyes, choosing this moment to steady her ragged breathing. Waverly gave her arm one last squeeze before pulling away in order to order shots for everyone.

Rosita threw Nicole a smile, and seemed as if she planned to drag a stall into the space next to her, but Waverly pulled her stall over first, settling right next to Nicole, close enough that their arms were brushing up against the others. The short brunette completely avoided Rosita's raised eyebrow, causing Nicole to think that maybe she had done it on purpose, though she wasn't sure why. Rosita looked like she might say something, but moved to sit between Wynonna and Jeremy instead, causing Wynonna to throw a comment about how 'great it is that she won't be drowning in nerd tonight', much to Jeremy's dismay. When Doc began talking to him, he seemed to forget about the comment though.

****

At one point, Waverly had disappeared to the toilet and had returned only to find that her stall had been stolen, Nicole expected that she would just sit on the empty stall next to Dolls, but instead she decided to completely catch Nicole off guard. Nicole had swivelled round in her seat to face Wynonna during the night so they could talk easier, which left a small space in front of her, where Waverly's stall had been. Well, the tiny brunette chose to plant herself in that area, practically nuzzling herself into Nicole's space, her back against Nicole's knees, facing Wynonna. In order to give the girl slightly more space, Nicole parted her legs, but was shocked when Waverly wasted no time moving back so that her behind leant on the small portion of the stall Nicole had revealed when moving.

Nicole felt that she could be a very composed person when she needed to be, it was a necessary requirement when working for the law. She'd been in many situations while catching criminals that led to her buttons being pushed, but she'd keep a steady head and get through it. But, this?

It was too much.

Waverly had her back practically pressed against Nicole's front, and she kept shifting too. This action meant her brushing against Nicole's chest in a way that she really didn't want to admit was arousing, because it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it was. Nicole brought a hand up to her own collar and tugged at it slightly because suddenly she felt really, really hot. Waverly finished her drink and settled it down on the bar counter before resting a hand on each of Nicole's legs, she began stroking the material of her trousers above her lower thighs at a tantalisingly slow pace, it was so soft that it made every single hair on her body stand up. Her stomach was flipping constantly now, and she felt dizzy with emotion. Waverly shifted once more and Nicole felt like she might die of frustration. She cleared her throat nervously and sat up straighter in her seat, trying to subtly pull away from the contact, even if only a little, but Waverly unconsciously followed and then she was right back there and Nicole was sure she was at breaking point.

"Hey Waves, you uncomfortable?" Nicole asked, calmer than she had expected. She silently thanked the heavens for allowing her to look much cooler than she felt. Literally. "You're shifting around a lot there."

Waverly kept her bottom half in place, turning her top half around slightly to peak up at Nicole with a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I guess I'm a teeny tiny bit tipsier than I thought I was!" She laughed before grabbing Nicole's hands, which had been gripping hold of the stall under her, instead moving them to Waverly's waist, "You'll have to keep me safe and standing, Officer!" She joked with a laugh before removing her own hands from Nicole's and moving them back to where they had been previously, playing with Nicole's trousers.

This was not the outcome Nicole expected out of that question, and Waverly was currently wearing a crop top. That's a big problem because although Nicole's thumb and index finger were above the material of Waverly's top, her middle, ring and pinkie finger were all settling on bare skin, and it just wasn't fair. She must feel like a statue to Waverly, because she was so tense. She hoped the shorter girl couldn't feel how hot her hands were either, because that'd just be embarrassing.

Waverly's fingers were still tracing patterns on her legs, and it caused Nicole's finger's to twitch ever so slightly.

Once again, Wynonna interrupted the interaction, causing both girls to jump. "Did you two shack up last night or something because I don't even show my bed this much affection?" She asked, with a humorous wiggle of her eyebrows.

Nicole opened her mouth to speak, though she had no idea what on earth she planned to say, luckily Waverly spoke up first.

"If Nicole and I go out with her family around Purgatory everyone is going to question it, so we need to prove it to everyone else too or her parents will realise." And although she made a brilliant point, it was gutting to hear because for a moment there Nicole thought that Waverly might actually be showing an interest. "I'm doing a much better job though, for someone so confident about their skills when it comes to getting a woman, she's really not the best at executing said knowledge." Waverly teased, though Nicole thought it sounded more like a challenge.

"It'd help if someone let me in on the plan!" Nicole accused, huffing, though a smile played on her lips nonetheless. Waverly shrugged and turned back around, effectively ending the conversation. She began moving her fingers again and Nicole felt her muscles react with a twitch, though it didn't put the brunette off.

'She wants a challenge? I'll bite.' Nicole thought, before she began to move her thumb in slow circles over Waverly's top. She felt the other girl react, she tensed ever so slightly before relaxing and choosing to caress Nicole's leg with a bit more confidence. This continued for a while, each stopping now and then to have a drink, before returning to the same position, silently challenging the other to give up and move away first. Nicole's a sore loser, so she decided that she wasn't going to lose.

Nicole's middle finger that rested on Waverly's skin twitched slightly, testing the waters. She wanted to make sure that this wasn't actually crossing boundaries. She knew Waverly had placed her there in the first place, but that didn't mean she wouldn't change her mind. When Waverly didn't move away, she stopped moving her thumb and instead decided to hesitantly drag her middle finger across Waverly's skin, before dragging back again. She heard Waverly's breathing change and thought that might be a sign to stop, so she did. When Waverly moved her own fingers an inch higher on Nicole's legs, Nicole knew she was not only okay, but setting out to win. Nicole moved her middle finger again, dragging softly. She did this on both sides of Waverly's body, and she thought maybe it was tickling her because she felt Waverly's muscles twitching underneath her. She thought that it would tickle less if she used her ring and pinkie finger too, and dragged her fingers a little firmer than she had been.

She was so glad for her Stetson because she was sure she was probably more than a little red faced right now. She didn't know what was happening, but her whole body was reacting. It felt like the butterflies had swarmed her stomach and then took over every other part of her body too, and she knew her breathing was not as calm as it should have been. She just hoped that Waverly hadn't noticed. She also had no idea how anybody could have such soft skin, it didn't make sense to her. She'd been intimate with a lot of girls when she was younger, but nothing had felt as smooth as this.

The sudden pressure Nicole had put on Waverly's waist must have shocked her because she moved her hips slightly, unfortunately it caused her to hit into Nicole's front, putting the smallest bit of pressure right where Nicole both did, and did not, want. Nicole's breath hitched and a whispered "Oh" flew out of her mouth before she had the chance of reeling it in, and then she was panicking because there was no way that didn't sound sensual. This was all just part of a plan and Nicole should not be reacting to it as if it were real, that's when it gets complicated. She knew this, so why had she continued to push herself when she knew she couldn't control it.

"I think it's time to hit the hay."

Nicole was surprised to find those words coming from Wynonna, who you often couldn't drag away from this place, but then she was giving Dolls sex eyes so Nicole very quickly stopped being surprised. Instead she took this as a perfect time to run out of there before she messed up anymore. She downed the last of her drink, pulled the Stetson off of her head briefly so she could run her hand through her hair, before placing it back where it belonged on her head. She tilted her hat at everyone, though she found that her eyes lingering on Waverly's. Nicole turned away, choosing to look down in shame instead, muttering a quiet goodbye before making her way towards the door. She could hear Wynonna throwing a 'What crawled up her and died?' comment at the group so Nicole looked back briefly, only to find Waverly watching her go with a blank expression, she sighed before walking out of Shorty's.

She welcomed the cold air as it hit her flushed face, realising for the first time just how difficult this plan was actually going to be, now that she was actually experiencing some of the physical aspects of it. It made her extremely nervous.

Her friendship with Waverly was never going to be the same again after this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

If their encounter the night before had effected Waverly at all, then she was an exceptional actress, because she didn't show the slightest hint of nervousness whatsoever. Nicole, however, was a wreck. She could hardly meet Waverly's eye.

Honestly, Nicole hoped that she was just blowing the whole thing out of proportion in her head, she prayed that maybe it wasn't quite as bad as she had thought, especially if Waverly wasn't reacting to it. She thought for sure that the shorter woman would have heard her moan though, considering it was practically whispered into her ear. Maybe someone up in the sky had noticed how screwed Nicole already was and spared her this one moment of embarrassment by causing Waverly to experience a momentary lapse of hearing. Miracles can happen.

Nicole thinks that maybe the same someone had regretted their decision to help her and therefore planted the idea in Wynonna's head that a house party would be a great idea, so she wasn't in too much of a hurry to glance up and thank them just yet.

Wynonna had gotten ahead of herself and printed posters, ordering Doc to post them around Shorty's to get the message out. She's one of those 'go big or go home' kind of girls, and Nicole was inclined to believe that this party was going to be no exception. The older Earp had told Jeremy and Rosita to focus on the alcohol side of things, while dragging Dolls with her under the pretence that they would be cleaning the house up, but Nicole knew that's not what happened. Waverly lived there, it was already spotless. Before she exited Shorty's, she threw a castaway comment towards both Waverly and Nicole, one that caused the latter to gulp nervously.

"You two put your heads together and figure out how to decorate the place so it doesn't look like shit. Food too. Have fun!"

Nicole stared at their retreating forms, she watched as the door swung closed, she even stood there for a moment after just to avoid turning around. She was nervous five minutes ago and that was when everyone was there. Now it's just her and the girl she likes, standing alone in a room, the morning after she had sensually groaned in the shorter girls' ear.

Oh god.

She decided it would probably be strange to avoid the girl while in a room that only they were occupying, so she spun around to face her instead. Waverly simply smiled before making her way over to the Officer, she linked her arms with her before leaning closer to her and whispering, "This is the perfect time for you and I to start laying out the foundation for our plan!" She exclaimed excitedly, before pulling Nicole along and out the door. Nicole sighed sadly to herself, was it too late to back out and face her parent's disappointment instead?

Nicole found herself observing as Waverly pulled items off of shelves and threw them into the basket Nicole was holding, Nicole glanced down at the basket with an incredulous smirk, noticing that it mainly consisted of carrot sticks and dips, with the odd crisp packet in the mix. Nicole didn't want to insult the girl, but she doubted anybody would want salad at a party, and her hands were full so she couldn't add her bit.

At that thought, an idea hit her. She wiped the smile off of her face and replaced it with a grimace, letting the basket hang slightly in her hands and slumping her body forward as if it were weighing her down.

"Waves!" Nicole called, realising that Waverly had wondered off to the end of the isle, the girl turned and rushed back over, "This basket is getting pretty heavy, can we grab one that, oh I don't knoooow, has wheels instead?.." Nicole suggested, teasing her slightly.

Waverly's body jerked into action, apologies falling out of her lips as she moved past her to head towards the front of the shop, stopping briefly to place her hand on Nicole's arm, squeezing her comfortingly, before continuing on. Nicole grinned triumphantly before standing up straight and relaxing, knowing that she could add to the load without the burden of a basket.

"Hey, Cutie!" A familiar voice called from the end of the isle, and Nicole could just tell that it was said with a smirk.

"Rosie, you can't have missed me that much, you saw me an hour ago." Nicole shot back with a grin, smiling over at her friend.

"Don't underestimate me, Nic. I'm a bitch but I'm needy as fuck." She grinned just as bright, laughing.

"Nicole! All the fruit is on sale, we could have a fruit bowl! What kind should we-" Waverly started, drifting round the corner like a race car driver, stopped abruptly when she noticed who else was accompanying Nicole, the wheels screeching in protest. "Oh, hi Rosita, hey Jeremy." She greeted, a little more enthusiastically to the latter. "What're you doing here?" She asked, sauntering up to Nicole and wrapping her arm around the taller girls back so that she held her waist on the opposite side, where Nicole was still holding the basket, her other hand moving up to place delicately over Nicole's stomach. Nicole's eyes widened a fraction, she silently thanked her job for the gruelling training that led to her body being toned. Waverly probably wouldn't notice, but it still felt nice to know that it wasn't something to be concerned about. This was such an intimate stance and Nicole felt her stomach muscles twitch under the shorter woman's hand out of nervousness. Nicole softly wrapped her arm around Waverly's shoulders, hoping she wouldn't mind. It gained her a little grin, so she presumed it was okay.

"We had to grab more drinks because Wynonna can't stop herself from stealing booze from the bar." Rosita stated with a laugh and a small shake of her head.

"She does kind of own it though so it's hardly stealing." Waverly muttered irritably, causing Nicole's eyebrow to shoot up in confusion, Rosita caught the comment too and squinted her eyes disapprovingly, though chose to ignore it.

"Right, well, we should go, but I'll be waiting for that Dance later, Nicky. Look for the hottest girl in the room, it shouldn't be hard." She said confidently, walking away with a sway in her step, Nicole watched them go before looking down at Waverly.

"You okay?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Who, me? Sure thing. Like I was saying, fruit!" Waverly said, throwing her hand into Nicole's smoothly, dragging her away. But all Nicole could focus on were their hands, her whole arm tingled due to the contact. Waverly had entwined their hands so softly that it gave Nicole a surge of butterflies, she felt her whole body heat up and a blush taint her cheeks.

In her short life, she had been with a lot of girls, which consequently meant that she had held hands with girls a lot. And, yeah, it's always quite nice, but it felt nothing like this did. Waverly had the smallest, cutest hands Nicole had ever seen. They were so soft and so gentle and just so Waverly.

Nicole found it so difficult to concentrate the whole time, her mind wondering, her thoughts taking over. This was so simple, it was just the two of them going out buying food for a party. She had been shopping with Waverly before, a bunch of times, but this felt so different. Waverly had held her hand the whole time, without hesitation, without concern for anybody else's opinion. She had taken that risk for Nicole, and the happiness of her family. It was so thoughtful, it made her heart soar.

Ironically, Waverly pulled her out of her musings with a squeeze of her hand. Nicole smiled before lifting the bags away from the checkout and making her way out to the exit, Waverly following close behind. As they made their way over to Waverly's red truck, they noticed Rosita and Jeremy leaning on the side of it.

"Hey strangers." Nicole said with a grin, nodding at them both, Nicole politely moved past them and threw the bags in the back of the truck, noticing that all the alcohol the pair had been buying had been stuffed there too, she turned to the other two with a smirk. "What's this I see?"

"We're weak, tired and desperate for a ride, Waverly! Can you give us a ride, please?" Jeremy begged shamelessly, causing Rosita to roll her eyes next to him.

"We were- Well, I was fine. You have first-hand knowledge on how big my guns are, huh, Nic?" Rosita said, flashing a proud smirk and flexing her arms deliberately, flaunting her muscles to her. "Or have you forgotten? Because I sure could show you a thing or two." She flirted, causing Nicole to blush and scratch the back of her neck awkwardly. Waverly frowned, opening her mouth to refuse their request.

"Jump up, you flirt." Nicole laughed, nudging her head towards the back of the truck.

"You love it." Rosita shot back, smirking before saying "You should stay there while I get up, you'll get a great view." She finished, rolling her eyes when Nicole laughed and jumped in the truck, closing her door behind her. Waverly got in the driver's seat and slammed her door closed aggressively, causing the truck to shake slightly, Nicole's eyebrow shot up in surprise but she decided not to question it.

Jeremy was still stood outside the truck, so Nicole rolled her window down, turning to him with a frown, "Uh, what you doing over there, Jeremy?" She asked with a laugh.

"I didn't flirt with you, which uh, means that I didn't get an invite.." He stated hesitantly, lifting his leg up and throwing it down again to kick a rock across the car park, accidently kicking it into Waverly's truck instead. All three of them looked at him with varying facial expressions. Waverly just looked angry in general, Nicole looked confused and Rosita looked amused. "I-I can definitely fix that."

"Get in, Jeremy." Nicole instructed, turning to look forward, sneaking a glance over at Waverly, who looked like she wasn't going to calm down soon. The journey was quiet, and awkward, and the worst part was that Nicole really wasn't even too sure why.

"Oh god, finally! I thought you shits were never going to get here! Waverly, get the food out on the table! Rosita, music! Nicole, hang up the bunting and the ugly piñata! Jeremy, break nothing!" Wynonna shouted, pointing at Jeremy in warning, who in turn only nodded and jumped on a seat with his arms crossed, making sure to touch nothing.

Everyone got to work, scrambling to get everything done quickly. Wynonna was an early drinker, which meant people would arrive much earlier than people would for an average party, so they really didn't have much time at all.

Nicole knew she was tall, but there was no way in hell she'd be able to hang this piñata by herself, she cursed a couple of times under her breath while trying to stretch up to get it, but she just didn't have enough height.

"Wynonna do you not have anything I can stand on? This is ridiculous!" Nicole whined, wanting to stamp her foot in frustration.

"Suck it up, Haught!" Wynonna quipped, only causing Nicole to whine more, her irritation building. She relaxed and put her head in her hands in frustration. She looked over at Waverly who had stopped unwrapping food to give her a sympathetic smile, one that Nicole returned. Waverly's smile fell instantly and she dropped her head, continuing to prepare the food instead which caused Nicole to frown too, unsure as to what the sudden change was.

She couldn't focus on that for long though, because suddenly arms wrapped around her knees, lifting her up. "Woaahh!" Nicole squealed in surprise, reaching down for support.

"Steady yourself or we're both going down, Nic!" Rosita exclaimed in a panic, feeling the girl wriggle on top of her, she wrapped her arms around the redheads thighs to stabilise her.

"It would've been great to have a pre-warning!" Nicole shot back with a huff, reaching down to rest her hands on Rosita's shoulders nervously.

"Just hurry and get the damn thing in the ceiling!" Rosita grunted, huffing. "And then hurry down here and give me my reward" She said, wiggling her eyebrows and smirking. It earned her a soft swipe to the head, "Hey, you bitch!" She yelped, but laughed straight after, squeezing her thighs.

"You're the bitch, but I'll let it slide this time." Nicole joked, focussing on nailing the piñata up, "That should… Juuuust about.. Doooo it.. Yes! There, done!" Nicole yelled triumphantly, wriggling her way out of Rosita's grasp, nearly falling on her face in the process. "I call that a near death experience, don't you?" Nicole laughed, holding her hand to her heart, feeling her erratic heartbeat. Rosita only rolled her eyes, going back to preparing the speakers. Nicole swivelled round to face Waverly, throwing her hands up in the direction of the piñata, "What do you think, Waves?" she asked, pride shining through at her small achievement.

"It's great, Nicole." Waverly muttered, returning to the food without another word, a deep frown etched on her face.

"Do you want some help with that, I finished up with my stuff, so I'm all yours." Nicole offered, grinning over at the other girl in the hopes of making her smile back.

Waverly muttered something under her breath that Nicole didn't catch, before she looked up and answered. "No thanks, I can handle it, looks like your attention is wanted elsewhere anyway." Waverly grumbled, before shuffling off to grab more food. Nicole threw her hands up in confusion. Wynonna stepped up behind her, patting her on the shoulder.

"You really can't seem to catch a break, huh, Haught?" She asked with a chuckle, a grin reaching from ear to ear.

Nicole huffed, aggravated, before stealing a sausage roll off the platter Waverly had already set up, the redhead was thankful that she had concentrated earlier long enough to throw the bag into the heap.

"Tonight's going to be a blast." She stated to herself with a sigh, throwing the sausage roll in her mouth. Only one thought ran through her mind-

Why did it feel like she never knew what was going on? 


	7. Chapter 7

Nicole would say 'I told you so' if it was something she was proud to have been right about, but it wasn't. 2PM and people had already started arriving.

Wynonna had made up a rule that anybody who wanted to join the party had to take a shot first, she said that it was like a vampire asking for permission to enter a home, but cooler. It was definitely just an excuse. She'd thrusted a shot in Nicole's face too, which she reluctantly threw down her throat with a grimace.

She wasn't an afternoon drinker by any means, so she tried to avoid Wynonna as best she could until later otherwise she'd be on the floor by 4PM.

On the bright side, Waverly seemed to have cheered up considerably, happily greeting guests as they entered, rolling her eyes at every shot her sister passed out. Nicole would meet the younger Earp's eye every now and then, causing her polite grin to morph into a bright contagious grin.

Nicole tried mingling with the crowd, but opted for talking to Jeremy instead. He was clumsy, but he had a big heart nonetheless. They'd made idle chit chat while observing the room, it was easy and uncomplicated, and Nicole was pretty content.

"Soooo… Waverly, huh? She's cuuuute." Jeremy trailed off, chancing a glance at Nicole, who shuffled uncomfortably at the topic change. He fiddled with a button on his shirt nervously, glancing down at his hands, before looking back at Nicole and laughing awkwardly.

Nicole, however, was trying to calm herself down. Was Jeremy about to confess to a secret crush? Because Nicole definitely wasn't the person he should confide too about this. She felt an uncomfortable pang in her chest causing her to lift her hand up and cradle the area.

"You got a thing for her, huh?" Nicole asked, though it was far more cutting and bitter than she had intended it to be, she turned away, torn between feeling bad for snapping and angry for his apparent crush.

Jeremy looked over at her, a swarm of emotions flicking across his face; surprise, confusion, intrigue, excitement. He settled on embarrassment, scratching his head bashfully, before grinning up at her. "Who doesn't?" He exclaimed.

Nicole squinted in anger, staring at the other end of the room with a glare, gritting her teeth to hold her mouth. In that moment Waverly skipped over, planting herself next to Nicole with a grin. Nicole looked over at Jeremy with a glare, he looked confused before smiling goofily at Waverly. The redhead huffed, wanting to pick Waverly up and drag her away from the boy. Her eye's widened slightly, remembering that she could. Well, not drag her away, but let Jeremy know that he couldn't have her, even if it was fake.

Nicole reached down for Waverly's hand, gently entwining their fingers together, giving her hand a squeeze for good measure. It was childish, she knew that, but she tilted her head up and turned to Jeremy with a smug look. It was kind of gross behaviour but she was so irritated about the new information Jeremy had shared that she didn't quite care in that moment. Waverly just grinned shyly up at her, causing her to smile softly.

The party was in full swing, Nicole was feeling tipsy and the house was beyond crowded.

She couldn't complain though, because Waverly was pressed closely against her side, her arms wrapped tight around her waist. Nicole hadn't gotten used to it all just yet, the fake dating thing, the closeness, the constant eruption of butterflies in her stomach. She felt bad for enjoying it so much, knowing that she was definitely getting much more out of this than Waverly. This thought saddened Nicole, she frowned due to the immense surge of guilt that hit her.

"Why're you frowning, Nic?" Rosita said, sauntering up to them. Nicole glanced over at her, then down at a frowning Waverly, before shaking her head.

"Nothing." Nicole answered, mentally telling Rosita to drop the subject. Rosita squinted her eyes in confusion, but kindly let it go for now.

"Do I get my dance yet?" She asked, reaching to pull a piece of fluff off of Nicole's shirt, looking up at her with a soft look. The redhead felt the shorter girls arms squeeze tighter just slightly, so she squeezed her back with the arm she had wrapped around her shoulders. Nicole opened her mouth to say yes to Rosita, but she was interrupted before she could.

"I can dance with Waverly while you're gone, I'll keep her company." Jeremy offered, smiling up at Nicole before turning to Waverly with a grin. Nicole noticed Waverly grin back, and it upset her more than she wanted to admit.

"I think my girlfriend should get the first dance, but find me later and we will." She promised Rosita with a smile, before sending Jeremy a curt nod and nudging Waverly over to where the makeshift dance area was. She removed her arm from around Waverly and hesitantly wrapped both around her neck instead, hoping it was okay with Waverly. She huffed out a subtle sigh of relief when Waverly softly snaked her arms around her waist. She ignored the shot of electricity that made its way through her body at the contact, instead focussing on the thought that was plaguing her.

"Waverly?" Nicole started, looking down at the girl in her arms. Waverly hummed in acknowledgement, so Nicole gulped and tried to put her words together. "Did I- I mean.. Were you- like- I don't know.. Should I have-"

"Nicole, I have nooo idea what you're trying to say right now." Waverly stated with a laugh, grinning up at her, and Nicole knew that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She also realised in that moment that they were really, really close right now. If she just dipped down the smallest amount then- No. Nope. FAKE date. Fake. As in 'not real'.

"Was it okay to call you what I did? I mean, I told you that you'd set the rhythm, then I-I started playing dubstep when you wanted... I don't know- Classical? Which isn't fair, I should have let you take the-" Nicole closed her mouth abruptly when she felt Waverly remove one of her hands from her waist and slip it upwards, using a finger to touch Nicole's chin and gently nudge it closed. Nicole could feel her jaw twitching with nervousness, her eyes flick across the whole of Waverly's face.

"It was okay, Nicole. You've really stepped up your game." She teased, winking up at her. She removed her finger from her chin, instead running her thumb across Nicole's jaw line, following it until she reached Nicole's neck, where she momentarily placed her hand, delicately stroking the skin with her fingers, before dropping her hand back down to her waist. Nicole's whole body was screaming out in frustration, but she kept her expression calm, smiling down at the other girl.

"I try." She quipped, grinning at the other girl.

"You succeed." Waverly finished with a smirk, biting the inside of her cheek to contain her smile.

The moment ended when someone scoffed, before loudly yelling "I didn't know it was going to be that kind of party!" at them. Both women's smiles dropped from their faces, this was what Nicole was worried about; the judgement. Judgement Waverly didn't deserve, because it wasn't truly who she was.

Nicole dropped her hands from Waverly, stepping back slightly, crossing her arms uncomfortably. Waverly followed her movements with a frown, turning to the direction of the voice, scowling.

"Who invited you, Champ?" She shot at him, voice laced with irritation. He wore blue jeans with a white shirt tucked into them, his hair was over-greased and his eyebrows were knitted together in disgust.

Champ puffed out his chest and walked over to where Nicole was standing, she ducked her head when he got a little too close, her discomfort visible to everyone watching. He laughed bitterly at her, "You enjoying my sloppy seconds, Dyke?" His own words made him laugh harder, before he addressed the whole room, "This is a joke, right?" He asked, his arms out on either side of him, twisting on the whole room to gouge their rest of the guests reactions, "As if Waverly Earp would go from me..." He said, digging his thumb into his own chest, puffing it out even more, before pointing over at Nicole with a grimace, "To that?" He laughed some more for good measure, bending down to lean on his knees because he found the idea so hilarious.

Nicole felt like she was going to be sick.

She felt like she was back in High School again, back to the daily torment her peers gave her, back to being picked last for everything because the boys thought of her as an infection and the girls were worried she had a crush on them. Despite her best efforts, Nicole felt her eyes well up with unshed tears, the embarrassment hitting her full force. She blinked rapidly, lowering her head even more to hide.

She knew this was bound to happen, she knew someone would call them out on how ludicrous it all sounded. How unbelievable it was. Nicole knew that. She'd liked Waverly from day one, she knew that she was out of her depth. She knew that it was a fantasy. She didn't need somebody to throw the absurdity of it right in her face, especially an ex of Waverly's. She'd been with him for years back in school, so he knew her type. Nicole would never fit that.

She felt like running. She wanted to run away and crawl under a bed or in a cupboard and just forget for a while that reality existed. She wanted to disappear into her own mind, where it was okay to like a beautiful girl, and possible for the beautiful girl to like her back. She liked her mind, it made her feel better.

"You are nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to Nicole. You can't hold a candle to her. I realise now that being with you was the inevitable, shitty introduction to relationships that everyone has before they find the right person. And with every single touch, and word, and- and kiss that Nicole has given me, I've felt every ounce of self-worth that you had sucked out of me return with a newfound power. You broke me down, she builds me up. Remember those words, Champ. You. Are. Nothing. Compared. To. Nicole. Haught." Waverly spoke each sentence in a terrifyingly low voice, each syllable laced with a fury Nicole had never heard in the shorter girl before. She slowly approached him as she spoke and she jabbed him in the chest with each word on the last sentence. He looked absolutely livid, but Waverly twisted round on the spot, flicking him with her hair, as she made her way over to Nicole.

She was still looking down, her tears flowing now, from both the embarrassment and the way Waverly had lied for her. Nicole felt awful. Waverly shouldn't have to do that, she shouldn't even have been placed in that situation. Nicole never should have accepted Waverly's offer, knowing that Waverly's compassionate nature would have made the girl feel compelled to help.

Waverly stood in front of her now, lifting her hand up to Nicole's face. She used her finger to lift the redheads chin, much like she had earlier, this time with a tenderness Nicole wasn't expecting and absolutely did not deserve. Nicole fought against Waverly's finger, trying to keep her head bowed, but Waverly gently persisted, lifting her head so they could look at each other. Waverly's eyebrows tilted upwards with a look of heartbreak when she met the others stare. Nicole looked broken.

Waverly lifted her other hand to Nicole's neck, lightly caressing the skin, while her other went to tracing her jawline gently. A single tear fell down Nicole's cheek despite her best efforts to stop it, so Waverly lifted her thumb up and swiped the moisture away, before returning to her jaw. Nicole sniffled, looking down at the brunette in confusion. Waverly looked back up at her, reassuring her with the smallest of smiles before her eyes fell to her lips. She glanced up once more at Nicole's eyes, before she leaned forward and tilted her head. She nudged Nicole gently with the hand on her neck, asking her to meet her half way, before her fingers continued to trace patterns into her skin. After a beat, Nicole ducked down.

Clichés are over used and boring, but they were oh so true in this moment.

Fireworks, sparks, toe curling, a string quartet emerging out of nowhere, ignited fires in stomachs- you name it, Nicole felt it.

Their lips brushed together hesitantly, lingering for a moment, simply breathing each other in before Waverly boldly moved into Nicole's space more, allowing her lips to merge with Nicole's completely, though still soft and caring. Nicole found the bravery to part her lips ever so slightly, allowing Waverly the chance to brazenly capture Nicole's bottom lip between her own in a searing kiss that left Nicole breathless. When Nicole went to kiss her again, Waverly teased her by pulling away slightly, breathing hotly on the other woman's mouth with a small smirk until she herself relented and pulled Nicole in, brushing her tongue across her bottom lip then smoothly kissing her again.

Nicole would be absolutely lying through her teeth if she said that she had experienced a better kiss than this, Waverly knew the boundaries of how much push and pull to have in a kiss and it made it mouth-wateringly sexy, Nicole felt her whole body heat up and knew her pupils had probably completely dilated with how turned on she had become in such a short amount of time. Waverly tasted like- oh shit.

Nicole suddenly felt herself roughly being pulled back, by her hair no less, before being turned to face an angry looking Champ. And, with one hand buried in her hair, he pulled the other one back and punched her. Hard. In the face.

Once was bad, twice was worse.

Three times fucking sucked.

He even managed swiping a knee into her stomach before anybody pulled him off, which felt like a bit of a blow to Nicole. Ironically.

Coughing and wheezing, Nicole fell to the ground with exhaustion, letting the commotion blur into the background.

This had somehow simultaneously been the best and worst house party she had ever attended. All Nicole knew is she would go through a bunch of those beatings if it meant Waverly Earp would kiss her like that first. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Somewhere along the line, Nicole had decided to lay down, curling up into a ball on the floor. Usually she'd think about all the people around her, but she's pretty sure her self-confidence had nose-dived into the well Wynonna had previously threatened to throw her in.

Dolls had dragged Champ out, Wynonna following close behind, cursing at the greasy haired boy as they went.

Nicole heard a muffled "This isn't over!" followed by the revving of an engine, it was only then that she could breathe out a sigh of relief. She felt so weak... Why couldn't she find it in her to punch him? She was a police officer for Christ sake, it was pathetic. Between the horrible childhood memories, the fact-based insults and the reminder that Waverly was a part of this too all contributed to her silence. The more she reacted, the more the backlash would affect the short brunette, and that just wasn't fair.

It's times like these where Nicole really thought about her life, and how much she wished she could change it. It would be so much easier if she could just like a guy. She could have grown up with a normal life. She wasn't naïve, she knew that people would have found something else to pick on, but the fact that this was a completely irreversible aspect of her life that seemed to really, really offend people, to the point of physically harming her... Was it worth the argument?

Nicole sighed, thinking over the kiss she and Waverly had shared. She knew she would never feel anything like that if she kissed a boy. Though, she's pretty sure she'd struggle to find anything remotely similar to that feeling with anyone, no matter the gender. With that thought in mind, the fleeting thought of walking back into the closet disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, she didn't want to hide if it meant that she missed out on even a fraction of that intensity. It wouldn't be with Waverly, but it'd be great anyway.

Speaking of- Waverly had knelt down next to her, coaxing her to sit up, offering her hand for support. Nicole grunted in protest, but took her hand and sat up anyway, groaning in pain as she did. Nicole didn't want anyone to look at her, she must've looked like a mess. She bowed her head but, for the third time, felt a small hand reach up and tilt her head back up. She looked up at Waverly with a pained expression, watching the shorter girl's reaction to decipher how bad the situation was.

Tears weren't a good sign.

Waverly's hand left her chin and ghosted over the side of her face, her thumb hovering over Nicole's, then her lip, before softly running over Nicole's jaw line. She pulled her hand away like she'd been scolded when Nicole hissed in pain, an apology on the tip of her tongue, Nicole reached for her hand and squeezed, telling her it was okay. She pulled away, needing both hands to keep her up, the pain in her stomach making sitting up really hard.

She felt Waverly reach for the back of Nicole's neck, fiddling with the small hairs there, continuing until she'd buried it in Nicole's hair completely, gently scratching Nicole's scalp. She leaned forward, placing a soft lingering kiss on the red heads forehead. The officer sighed contently, Waverly's kisses felt like medicine, the butterflies in her stomach managing to calm the pain Champs knee had left.

"What the fuck happened?" Wynonna asked in exasperation, throwing her arms up in the air as she made her way into the room, looking down at Nicole for answers.

"Champ has a death wish... I'm gonna kill him!" Waverly snapped out, jumping up and making a beeline for the door, Wynonna blocked the exit, raising her eyebrows at the younger Earp.

"Calm down there, Feisty. Tell me what happened?" Wynonna asked once again, Jeremy leaned over and whispered something in her ear, presumably filling her in on the situation. A steely look crossed Wynonna's face, before she looked down at Nicole, finally taking in her injuries, "I'm gonna kill him!" She shouted, turning on her heel and walking out the door without another word, Waverly went to follow, but Dolls stopped her this time.

"You should stay, get her cleaned up, if two Earp's turn up the fear might kill him before she gets any kicks in." He said, winking at her with a small smile. Waverly still looked hesitant, so he continued, "I'll keep Wynonna out of as much trouble as possible, don't worry." He continued, looking over at Nicole, before his eyes adjusted back on Waverly, "She needs you." He finished, putting a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened slightly and she nodded vigorously before quickly turning back to Nicole.

She paused on her way, thanking him, before moving to kneel in front of Nicole again. "Hey." She greeted, timidly.

"Hey." Nicole replied, grimacing as she readjusted.

"Why didn't you fight back, Nic? Nineteen year old Nicole would have had him flat on his face in seconds?" Rosita cut in then, curiosity getting the best of her. Nicole didn't know how to answer that without sounding pathetic, so she looked up at Rosita with a sad smile.

"I froze." She whispered. Her eyes started to sting with the beginnings of tears. She growled in frustration, furiously rubbing her eyes despite the pain, willing the tears to go back. Rosita knelt down beside Waverly, sighing.

"Hey." Rosita tried, tutting when Nicole wouldn't stop, "Hey." She repeated, firmer, grabbing one of Nicole's hands and bringing it down to her lap, clasping it securely, "There's no shame in it, Nicole. You weren't prepared for the things he said." She reassured, pausing. "It doesn't reflect badly on you, Nic. Not as Nicole or Officer Haught." She finished, feeling satisfied when Nicole brought her other hand away from her face too. Waverly watched on,

"Thanks, Rosie." Nicole said, with the smallest of smiles on her face.

"Come on, I'll get you cleaned up." Rosita stated, nudging her head towards the stairs.

"No!" Waverly shouted suddenly, eyes going wide when both girls turned to her with matching frowns, confused about the outburst. "I just- I'm not sure if you guys knew but I-I'm kind of short, and not that threatening... So could you maybe get these people out of the house, while I patch Nicole up instead? Maybe? Please..." Waverly trailed off nervously, grinning far too wide for it to be natural.

"You didn't have much trouble putting Champ in his place?" Rosita quipped, raising her eyebrows challengingly, causing Waverly to huff in frustration.

"Yes, well, I just think our rolls would be better if we reversed them. I'll take Nicole, you empty the house." Waverly said, taking a different approach, practically ordering the other girl to do as she said. Rosita simply scoffed, shaking her head with an exasperated laugh.

"Right, everybody out! Party's over!" Rosita yelled, walking out of the room. Waverly turned to Nicole, reaching her hands out to help her stand up. Nicole accepted the offer, gasping painfully as she did.

Waverly wrapped her arm around the other woman's waist, carefully leading her up the stairs, towards her room, placing her down on the shorter woman's bed, before disappearing off.

Nicole let herself be comforted by the smell surrounding her, a scent that was so completely Waverly. She leant her head back slightly, closing her eyes, letting the day catch up with her. Her eyes began to water for what felt like the hundredth time as the words Champ had said hit her once more in the chest.

"Hey." Nicole heard, right in front of her, making her jump. Her eyes shot open and she looked down to see Waverly kneeling down in front of her, smiling softly. Nicole hoped that her tears weren't obvious. "Mind if I start?" Waverly asked, holding a cloth up. Nicole simply nodded, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards just slightly. "It's going to hurt, okay?" Waverly warned, nervously. Nicole nodded once more in understanding, letting her eyes fall closed again.

She hadn't prepared herself for the sting she felt when Waverly began cleaning her face up, her eyes springing back open in a mix of surprise and displeasure. The tears that had gathered in her eyes were threatening to overflow now, and Nicole tilted her head up just slightly in an attempt to keep them at bay. Waverly adapted to the new position without complaint.

"You know, he was wrong, right? None of it was true." Waverly risked saying, worried about overstepping her boundaries.

"The plan won't work, Waverly. Which is okay, I really appreciate you trying." Nicole murmured with both sadness and acceptance lingering in her expression. Waverly frowned.

"We're not giving up, Nicole." She claimed with determination, "We're just getting started. What was the point in going through all of this." She paused, gesturing to Nicole's face, "Just to give up now?" She asked, continuing to softly clean the cuts on Nicole's lip and jaw. She was so gentle, her fingers danced across Nicole's skin carefully, mindful of the pain it was causing.

Nicole pulled away suddenly, jumping up from the bed, cursing as sharp pains shot through her stomach. "It isn't believable, Waverly! It won't- You're just- I'm not- Ugh!" Nicole threw her hand through her hair in exasperation, frustration taking over her.

Waverly walked over to her and tucked a hair behind her ear, letting her hand fall until it clasped onto her hand.

"You are beautiful, Nicole. Anybody would be lucky to have you." Waverly said, looking down at the ground, before meeting Nicole's eye. "I'm so sorry for what he said, it was my fault." Waverly said sadly, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbling anxiously. The redhead's eyes shot to Waverly's in an instant.

"No, that wasn't your fault, what on earth made you think that?" Nicole questioned, completely shocked at the brunettes absurd apology.

"The kiss. It was because of the kiss. That's what angered him. If I hadn't of kissed you.. I'm so sorry." She said shamefully, and it kind of broke Nicole's heart to hear, knowing that Waverly regretted it.

"You were moving the plan along Waves, and I love your devotion to helping, but you don't have to continue if this has made you uncomfortable. People are going to behave this way. I've faced it my whole life, you don't have to voluntarily go through it just for my benefit." Nicole calmed her.

Waverly looked up at her, an unreadable expression on her face, before she lifted her hand up to Nicole's cheek. "You're so dumb, Nicole." She started, smiling sadly, causing the redhead to frown. Allowing a smile to take over though, Waverly continued with a "We're going to knock them all dead, we'll deserve Oscars by the end of it." She laughed, the smile falling away quickly though. "Now, stay still and let me clean you up already before you drop blood on my floor." She muttered, lifting the cloth to Nicole's face once again.

Nicole watched the frown on the shorter woman's face as it deepened. She wanted nothing more than to make her smile, but Waverly seemed so upset. It was kind of killing Nicole knowing that she felt responsible.

Waverly had told Nicole to lay down after she had helped with her face, which she had done, the brunette following suit. It was a small bed, so they were close, and to make it worse, the brunette had fallen asleep. And, it turns out, she's a clingy sleeper. She was spooning Nicole, breathing softly on her neck, causing goose bumps to erupt along her whole body with every sigh. She had her arms draped around Nicole's waist, and every now and then she'd shuffle closer in her sleep, pulling the taller girl into her at the same time. The whole thing had Nicole feeling nervous. She was panicking.

"Rosita, check that room over there for people, I'll check this one!" Nicole heard from another room, before the door squeaked open. Nicole decided to stay quiet, pretending to be asleep, not wanting to talk to anybody. She heard two footsteps before a soft "Oh," Could be heard. Damn it, he'd confided in her about his crush, and then there she was in bed with said crush. He's going to hate her.

"Rosita!" She suddenly heard him whisper yell, before more footsteps approached, stopping in the same kind of area she felt the others had stopped. "Look!" He whispered, quieter this time. Nicole heard Rosita laugh and mutter something a bit too low for Nicole to hear, before she said "Put her there!" followed by the distinct sound of a high five. Both pairs of footsteps retreated, the door closing quietly behind them.

What the fuck?

Her interest was well and truly peaked. 


	9. Chapter 9

When she woke up, Nicole had momentarily forgotten where she was. She groaned sleepily and buried her head in the pillow, though immediately lifted herself back up again, hissing in pain. She brought her hand up to her face, softly examining the bruises and cuts she had gained the night before, grimacing slightly as she pushed down a touch too hard.

She suddenly realised who owned the bed she was in; surrounded by teddy's and discovery books and soft cotton sheets that all just screamed Waverly. For a second, it filled Nicole with warmth and safety, like nothing could hurt her there.

Then she realised that she was alone.

Her eyes widened as she began to come to terms with the situation she was in. She winced as she sat up in the bed, looking around the room for any signs that Waverly might have just popped out. Her pyjamas were folded up on the chair in the corner and her coat wasn't on the hook on the bedroom door. Nicole held her breath, straining to hear any movement in the house that might signal that Waverly was still in. When she heard the sound of footsteps on the floor downstairs, she sighed in relief.

With a stretch, Nicole pulled herself out of the comfy bed and dragged herself down the stairs, trailing into the kitchen with a smile.

"Hey, I thought-" Nicole started, before stopping abruptly, frowning deeply. "Jeremy, why are you here at.." she paused to look at her watch, only to find that she had taken it off during the night. "Wait, what's the time?"

Jeremy frowned, turning to the wall behind her, pointing. "Something wrong with your eyes?"

Nicole spun on the spot, turning to face the very large old fashioned clock on the wall, she tilted her head in exasperation; how hadn't she noticed that? She groaned and turned back to face Jeremy, frustrated.

"It's 8:45AM, what're you doing here?" She asked, a slight bite in her tone. She started to feel bad, but remembered that he had declared his love for Waverly the night before, causing the guilt to morph into an uncomfortably strong irritation.

"Oh- uh, right. Well, I thought Doc would be here. I wanted some, you know, tips. Because he's cool. I'm not. Figured I could use the help.." His voice faded out in what Nicole presumed to be embarrassment, she didn't blame him, it did sound pretty pathetic. Nicole rubbed her face with the palm of her hand in frustration, wincing as she did, causing a look of deep sympathy to fall on his face, before he continued, "It must have really sucked having all those people witness what happened, huh? Especially since he completely floored you, like, you're like an officer and everything so you'd think nobody would try that, I bet that won him a point or two with his.." He trailed off once more, before he began to bounce on the balls of his feet, his voice raising into a much higher octave than it should be. "Ooooh boy Jeremy, you always do this. Stop talking."

Nicole rolled her eyes, her patience running out. She reminded herself that Jeremy wasn't a bad guy. But for a really smart kid, he was just so clueless. She placed both her hands in her pockets, straightening her posture. "Do you know where Waverly is?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh, yeah, she like ran out earlier, she seemed kinda frazzled. I asked her if she was okay, or if she needed help, but she was in such a rush I didn't catch her reply." He told her, deciding to sit at the table, tapping his fingers on the wood nervously.

"Maybe she was late for work." Nicole muttered, more to herself. Though Jeremy caught it and rained on her parade, in record time.

"It's her day off, I thought she'd want to spend it chilling out, but you know she's more of a 'run head first into trouble' kind of girl." He stated with a chuckle, twiddling his thumbs.

Nicole frowned, last night she ran from trouble. In fact, she pretty much let trouble run head first into her, and she did nothing. Just let it happen. Like a coward. Waverly isn't a coward, she's brave and adventurous. She probably left because she realised that they were both just so different, or she was uncomfortable with the both of them being there. She didn't want to stay and have the awkward 'when're you leaving?' conversation with her, she left so she wouldn't have to. Nicole didn't blame her.

Nicole cleared her throat uncomfortable before abruptly leaving and heading in the direction of the living room. She grabbed her coat, threw it on and made a quick exit, throwing a quick goodbye to Jeremy on her way.

Jeremy looked around the empty room awkwardly, twiddling his thumps once more and stretching his legs out in front of him. He stretched his arms out and attempted to rest them on the table in front of him. Instead, he managed to knock a glass off the table, he watched helplessly as it shattered all over the floor.

"I can fix that." He stated, before noticing that some shards of glass had fallen into the cracks of the hardwood floor, most likely never to be seen again. "Oooor I can sweep this up and buy a new one.." He continued, before gently placing his forehead on the table in exasperation. "Stupid Jeremy." He finished with a sigh.

****

Nicole began her shameful walk home, the wind was bitter cold, slapping her in the face. It kind of felt like a blessing in disguise though because her face was so cold that it felt numb, distracting from the continuous sting she'd felt from the cuts since the night before.

She wrapped her coat tight around her like a safety blanket, though it did nothing for her battered ego.

"Hey, you're looking rough, Officer Hothead!" A man shouted from across the road, causing Nicole to turn in that direction. "Oh, but you weren't really a hothead last night, were you?" He asked, before bursting out into hysterical laughter, the group of men that accompanied him deciding to join in on the charade. Nicole frowned, deciding to turn back around and continue her trek home. "Aw, no comebacks? I'm not surprised." He threw her way, before they all started laughing again, slapping their knees and holding on to each other in their excitement. Nicole pulled the coat tighter and walked faster, her shame and embarrassment palpable. With each second that passed, their laughter faded out into the distance, causing Nicole to let go of the breath she had been holding. With a small, reluctant huff she decided to pull her phone out of her coat pocket, hovering over Waverly's name. She chickened out on phoning her, so decided to text her instead.

 **Nicole** : _I really appreciate everything you've done, but this isn't going to work. I just can't do it. I'm sorry._

Nicole read the message repeatedly, deliberating over whether to actually send it or not. She ended up standing at her front door before finally deciding to hit send. She didn't even remember her journey home, too engrossed in her own internal dilemma. She sighed sadly, shoving the phone back into her pocket, heading inside.

Nicole hadn't realised she'd been sleeping until she heard a knock on her door. Well, it sounded more like bricks were being hurdled towards her door, causing her to jump up in fear. She grabbed the nearest thing to her for protection, though it turns out her stale pack of cookies probably weren't her best bet. She tiptoed to the door, flinching when the banging continued. She placed her hand on the door, breathing in deeply, before throwing the door open in one full swoop.

She came face to face with a very frowny Waverly Earp.

"What're you doing here?" Nicole asked, silently hoping her heavy breathing wasn't obvious.

"Why does it look like you're about to beat me with a packet of cookies?" Waverly questioned, her eyebrows reaching her hairline. They quickly returned, before turning down angrily, "Where did you go?" She probed irritably. Nicole stuttered, completely stumped by the shorter girls' presence. "Put the damn cookies down and answer me!" She squeaked, gently pushing her way past Nicole, making her way into the flat, turning back to Nicole with crossed arms.

Nicole closed the door, turning to face the other girl, playing with her hands nervously. That seemed to be the moment that Waverly really looked at her because her expression softened instantly, before she crossed the distance between them, lifting her hands up to Nicole's jaw. Nicole decided to focus on her own breathing rather than the touch or she knew Waverly would notice her breath hitching, leading to questions Nicole refused to answer.

"Are you okay?" Waverly whispered, her fingers dancing over Nicole's skin delicately, so gentle and caring that it made Nicole want to cry.

"It's nothing a beer and cuddles with CJ won't fix." Nicole answered, referring to the cat Waverly loved so much. She saw how Waverly's eyes wavered slightly, presumably searching for her fluffy best friend, before they returned to the injuries in front of her. "We can't do this." Nicole stated, looking away. Waverly's gaze didn't falter, though her finger's stopped stroking her skin, resting in place instead.

"Why?" Was all she said, her gaze drifting down towards Nicole's neck, then behind her, before returning to her eyes. Nicole sighed, thinking back to the fight last night and the comments this morning by both Jeremy and the guys on her walk home. She didn't fit Waverly's type, it wouldn't make sense, and if Nicole couldn't believe it, how could she expect anybody else to believe it.

"I think it's more negativity than is necessary, especially for somebody who literally gets nothing out of it. It isn't worth all of the upset it's causing." Nicole rushed out before Waverly could intervene.

"It's my choice, Nicole. And it gets the whole 'Champ's Girlfriend' label off my back. It helps me too, so we should carry on." Waverly argued, insistently.

"No, it isn't happening. I'll just ask Rosita instead, she has no connections here so it won't personally affect her in the long run." Nicole walked to the kitchen, turning the coffee machine on in desperation, needing the caffeine.

"Is that what you wanted the whole time? For Rosita to be your girlfriend instead?" Waverly asked, her tone an unsettling mix of demanding and agitation. Nicole rubbed her face with the palm of her hand, huffing in annoyance at the familiar sting.

"Wh- Waverly, no. It's not even real, it's fake!" Nicole retorted, her hand finding her hair, running through it to calm herself. Waverly looked offended, it seemed like Nicole could never say the right thing.

"So people would have seen you with me, then with her? I'll just look like another notch on your belt, just like Champ." Waverly fumed, her anger coming through in heavy waves that slapped Nicole in the face, especially the relation between her and Champ.

"You know I'd never, ever screw you over that way, Waves. The thing with Rosita will literally just be with my family, it won't be public, nobody would know. We can say that what we had just fizzled out or something." Nicole suggested, trying to find a resolution to their complicated situation. It kind of killed her to even say it, though it would have always needed to end this way so it was probably better to have it end sooner rather than later.

Waverly looked beat, she sighed angrily, standing on the spot, refusing to look at the taller girl. The silence dragged on for a long while, causing Nicole's eyes to flitter across the room anxiously. "I think I should go, coming here was a mistake." Waverly stated, finally. Nicole frowned at this.

"You can stay if you want? We can watch something, get some disgustingly greasy food and drink our troubles away." Nicole suggested, one side of her mouth curving up in a hopeful smile.

"No, I think I should go." Was Waverly's only response before she made a speedy exit, hardly stopping to shut the door on her way out.

Nicole paced the room, battling with herself over whether that was the right decision, before deciding that the part of her arguing was the greedy, selfish part that wanted to be with Waverly. Calamity Jane chose that moment to make her presence known, peering up at her and meowing softly. "Just you and I tonight, Bud." Nicole told her, sadly. CJ paused before meowing at her and walking away. "Sorry." She apologised, though she knew she was much, much sadder about it than CJ was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

With sweaty bodies surrounding her and sticky alcohol-soaked floors, Nicole is starting to think she spends more time in clubs than she does at her own job. Every few minutes somebody is bumping into her, and she may not have been there for too long but she knew that if she heard one more girl laugh obnoxiously loud in an attempt to impress some boy, she might just punch someone.

Rosita had dragged her on one of her nights out, though from the moment they arrived, she hadn't seen her. It was mainly Nicole's fault, she was trying desperately to avoid the shots Rosita was sure to pour down her throat at a moment's notice.

"I don't know about you, but someone should tell that boy to gag her and take her home before someone decides to throw her off that chair she's perched on."

Nicole turned round to face the women leaning on the bar nudging her head towards the girl hysterically laughing and playing with her hair in the corner of the room, demanding attention from the boy beside her. Nicole threw a glance that way, before her gaze fell back to the woman beside her.

She was gorgeous, that was undeniable. She had dark wavy hair, a seductively curvy figure and a smile that curled perfectly into a sexy smile. She knew she was more than pretty, and she clearly used that to her advantage, with an aura of confidence and an easiness that made Nicole feel like she'd always known her.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Nicole stated, turning to look ahead of her, taking a swig of her beer, before her eyes fell back on the woman. "Nicole." She introduced, holding a hand out for the lady to shake.

"Abbie." The dark brunette replied, taking the offered hand readily, giving it a firm shake. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this really doesn't seem to be your favourite place." The woman observed, her eyebrow shooting up in question. Nicole thought for a second on whether to be honest, or to lie so she didn't sound quite so pathetic.

"It's a great place, with the right company." She decided on, knowing it would charm the woman but also knowing she was being truthful, acknowledging the fact that she would enjoy herself much more if Waverly had been there.

"With all these girls around, how couldn't you enjoy yourself?" Abbie commented dryly, glancing around at the clear desperation everyone in the room had to hook up with each other. "Take her for instance.." The woman started, pointing in the direction of the dancefloor, Nicole followed her line of sight, only to have her own eyes bulge out of her head in surprise.

There stood Waverly, wearing a flowy black skirt and a tight black crop-top, the whole outfit showcasing just how much she worked out, she had a suggestive smirk on her face and she was fluttering her eyelashes coyly. Nicole diverted her eyes to the subject of Waverly's affections, only to find some boy that seemed far too keen, practically lapping up all the attention Waverly was throwing his way. Delicate fingers ran up and down his abdomen suggestively, causing the boy to fumble his weight from foot to foot nervously, talking a mile a minute in a clear effort to impress her.

For a moment Nicole figured Waverly wasn't aware of her presence, but then she looked up and made direct eye contact, causing Nicole to tilt her head slightly in question. Waverly seemed to ponder over some kind of response for a moment, before deciding on turning away to laugh dramatically loud at whatever nonsense that was spewing from the boys mouth instead.

"It's just too much, right? You can tell she doesn't give a damn about him. Probably just trying to get over an ex. That poor boy has no idea." She finished with a frustrated sigh, taking a large swig from the bottle in her hand. Nicole hummed in response, her gaze lingering on Waverly for a moment, before she too turned back to her drink, almost managing to down the whole thing in one go.

"What about you? No boys to obsess over?" Abbie questioned, though she seemed far too interested in the answer to be doing it simply for conversation.

"Boys? No thank you. I'm not really a one-girl kind of girl though." Nicole responded, pouring the last few drops of her drink down her throat before placing it down on the bar. She ignored the voice in her head that told her she would be if that girl was Waverly. She'd clearly had too much to drink if thoughts like that were escaping the Thoughts-About-Waverly filter she had planted in her head the moment she found out the brunette was straight.

Abbie turned to her and smirked, before leaning just a little bit closer and saying, "I think you and I are going to get along."

Nicole turned to the direction of the bartender, trying to catch his attention, but it was then that Waverly decided to sit herself down in the stall next to her, seductively leaning forward to coax the man to notice her. It worked, obviously. Not just with him, but with Nicole, who couldn't seem to turn away, no matter how much the Mini-Nicole inside her screamed in protest. The boy she was with followed her every move, throwing his arm over her shoulder protectively, causing an uncomfortable weight to settle at the bottom of Nicole's stomach. She rolled her eyes at his actions, though Abbie seemed to think it was aimed at Waverly, because she tutted irritably and threw a "Get in the queue." Her way.

Waverly looked over, a look of insecurity flitting across her face, but Nicole watched as she visibly pushed that feeling down and masked it with confidence, looking her straight in the eye and saying, "Looks like you're the one getting in line, I was there first." Before nodding her head towards Nicole and taking a sip from the drink she had just been handed by the bartender. "I rocked her world, so you have big shoes to fill." She stated assertively, never faltering.

Nicole bit her lip, both Waverly's attitude and tone of voice setting something off inside her, making her cheeks burn red and her heart race. A hand found itself on her waist, causing Nicole to look down.

"Oh honey, you have no idea what I can do. When I'm done with her, she'll see you as the starter, and me as the main." Abbie challenged, her grip on Nicole's waist tightening ever so slightly,

Nicole wasn't sure what she felt, half of her felt like this was wildly inappropriate considering she hardly knew this woman and her 'relationship' with Waverly was false. But on the other hand, she had a mysterious, sexy woman and the girl she has had a huge crush on both competing for her affection.

"Wait, you got with her? Sweeeet! Do it now!" The boy begged, causing all three woman to turn to him with similar looks of disgust on their faces.

Abbie was the first to retaliate, telling him "You better beat it before my fist finds its way up your-"  
before being interrupted by Nicole, who shoved her hand over her mouth.

"You should go because I may not know her but I don't doubt she'll one hundred percent go through with the threat she's about to throw your way." Nicole suggested, somewhat calmer, though her agitation towards him lingered, considering his unfaltering interest in Waverly. He did, however, hear her warning and decided to make a speedy exit. He didn't even give Waverly his number, which relaxed Nicole slightly.

The silence that followed felt awkward to Nicole, though Abbie didn't seem fazed. The drink seemed to have hit her fast though, because before Nicole could get a grasp on what was happening, the woman was stood behind her, fingers kneading her sides, plastering kisses over the back of her neck. The sensation itself wasn't all that satisfying, but Nicole's pupils instantly dilated at the look in Waverly's eyes.

Waverly can be extremely competitive, she liked to win, which led Nicole to the presumption that the predatory look on her face was because Waverly had staked her claim earlier only to be challenged, and she didn't like it. Nicole's mind, however, was making up crazy scenarios in which Waverly would be so enraged by this woman that she would pull Nicole away from her and kiss her senseless.

That thought had Nicole's breath hitching. She ducked her head slightly, grabbing onto the bar to steady herself, releasing a sigh. She had almost forgotten that Abbie was even there, her own imagination running wild. It was Waverly's retreating form that pulled her out of her own thoughts.

She really should stop drinking.

Nicole would have felt bad about it if she wasn't so smitten over Waverly, but she decided to gently push Abbie off of her. The girl was crazy pretty and had a killer personality from what Nicole had seen, but it wouldn't be fair to hook up with her in this mind-set. She did, however, give the woman her phone number. Though it was mainly out of guilt and lack of excuses.

Nicole made her way into the crowd, looking out for Waverly as she went. She wanted to make sure she was okay, and to make sure the other woman hadn't gotten under her skin too much. Although she knew the game Waverly had played was childish, she also knew that Waverly was sensitive.

As she was weaving through the crowd, she spotted Waverly, her long brunette hair bouncing along to the music. She had found her muse, grinding up against the same guy from earlier, clearly having a good time. She danced so seductively that it made Nicole gulp nervously, jealousy boiling inside. She huffed in frustration, crossing her arms over herself apprehensively. Just as she was about to turn away, she saw the crowd begin to divide, causing her eyebrow to arch up in concern. It was Waverly's rushed, panicked voice that caused a surge of adrenaline and dread to pulse through her body, causing her to dash over to where the shorter girl was.

"Do you really think I'm going to let some guy put his hands all over you?"

Of course, Champ Hardy. Why was Nicole surprised? Nervousness momentarily overwhelmed her, her mind racing back to the other night, but her need to look out for Waverly outweighed the fear, so she stayed there and waited. She knew Waverly could handle herself, but she stood there anyway, just in case Waverly needed her help.

"What do you mean 'let' Champ? You don't own me, I'm not yours to control." Waverly argued, stepping away from Champ angrily.

"Back off, man. We're just having some fun." The boy Waverly was dancing with stated. If Nicole wasn't so engrossed in the encounter, she would have thrown her hand into her own face at the sheer stupidity of the boy in front of her. It's like dumb and dumber. Maybe Waverly had a type.

"What did you say to me?" Champ asked, the threat clear in his tone. He stepped into the boys space, daring him to speak. He puffed out his chest, pushing into him aggressively. The other boy pushed back slightly, glaring at Champ.

"I said, we're just having fun. Don't be so clingy, Bro." The boy sneered, pushing Champ back. They both squared up against each other, their foreheads together, both pushing against the other, daring the other to start.

Champ started it. Shocker.

He suddenly pushed the boy back, slamming his fist hard into his face, staring the boy down as he fell to the floor with the force of the punch. It took him a moment, but he recovered, diving into Champ, he threw his arms around champs waist and lunged, throwing them both to the floor, before landing a punch of his own.

Waverly tried to intervene, but Champ roughly pushed her away. That's when Nicole immediately sprang into action, reaching for Waverly before she hit the floor. She had her arms wrapped around Waverly's chest from behind, with Waverly's full weight against her, not that there was much to her. Nicole hastily, though delicately, lifted her back up onto her feet. They both made eye contact, both silently asking the other if they were okay, before Nicole ran back into the action, pulling champ off of the other boy.

Champ chucked his elbow into Nicole's stomach with full force, in the exact place he had kneed her before, causing her to lose her breath. Instead of cowering away, she held him tighter, turned him around and punched him square in the face. And she'd be lying if she said it didn't feel absolutely amazing.

"What the fuck! What was that for?" He squealed, like a petulant child, holding his bleeding nose. Waverly walked over, put a hand on Nicole's chest, subtly winked, then leant down to Champs level.

"She's protecting her girlfriend, you bastard." She stated, before standing up straight and kissing Nicole on the cheek for good measure.

Nicole willed herself not to turn red, instead turning to look at Champ with a smirk, muttering a simple "Officer Haught's back, bitch." Mainly to herself, but she knew he had heard it when he grunted angrily, and she knew Waverly had heard it when she grinned and brought her hand up to run through Nicole's hair like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Guess the plan's back on.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Despite everything that had happened, Waverly was the one pushing the plan forward, suggesting that they both go on a short milkshake date before they both made their way to work that night. That suggestion is the reason Nicole found herself in a booth with the largest milkshake that shakin' & bakin' had on their menu. Nicole loved this place, often grabbing a milkshake to go when she had time between call-outs. Waverly decided it would look more romantic if they went with the cliché and shared one, which Nicole couldn't really deny.

Nicole suggested getting two straws, but Waverly declined. She always stole some of Nicole's drink on a night out, so this isn't very different. But with every sip, Nicole found herself focussing less on the milkshake and more on the lip balm Waverly left on the straw, it was the same one she had on when they kissed at the party which completely threw her off each time. It wasn't really fair for Nicole to think it, but the thought of kissing Waverly distracted her so much more now that she had had a taste of it. Having kissed Waverly before made not kissing her so difficult.

The reminder had Nicole feeling shy and timid, fumbling around constantly and blushing whenever they both reached for the milkshake. She started to play with her hands in an effort to calm down, but Waverly seemed to have noticed because she reached forward and grabbed one, clasping it in her own.

A buzz on the table made the both of them jump in surprise, quickly followed by laughter. Both women looked over to the phone, catching a preview of a text on the lock screen. The laughter died out quickly after that.

"Hey Nicole, it's Abbie, from.." Was all the preview shared, but it was enough to create an awkward silence.

Waverly pulled her hand away and leant back in the booth, her smile wasn't quite so bright, it was soft and unsure, laced with insecurity. "Is that the girl from the other night? You must have liked her quite a bit to have given her your number, huh?" Waverly asked, she was laughing, but it wasn't bright and contagious like normal, she actually seemed uncomfortable. Her gaze fell to her lap, toying with the hem of her shirt. Nicole felt bad being the reason she felt so awkward, the confrontation must be embarrassing to look back on now that Waverly was sober.

Without warning, Waverly had shot up in her seat, with a look of complete concentration on her face. She grabbed Nicole's phone, shoved it in her hands and looked up at her expectantly.

"Answer her." Waverly said, causing Nicole to frown.

"What?" She replied.

"Answer her. Ask her on a date. I'll wingwoman you." Nicole waited for the punchline, but it never came. Waverly looked absolutely set on this idea, which made Nicole incredibly nervous.

"Waves, you had a go at me just yesterday for suggesting fake dating Rosita, it's hardly going to look good being on a date with you only to be found having a date with her, is it?" Nicole argued, hoping Waverly would drop the idea.

No chance.

"We'll go out of town. This plan doesn't have to ruin your love life. You like her, right? You can't let her go." And with that Waverly was planning a full day of romance with the woman she was competing with hours before. Nicole had whiplash. She didn't want to go, but she also didn't want to explain her reason for not wanting to go, so she was stuck.

Nicole's life had never felt more like a high school romcom in her life.

***

Nicole felt ridiculous.

She was dressed to the nines in a tight red dress that was far too revealing and gave off the wrong message, especially considering she absolutely did not want to go. Her hair was naturally flowing, brushing up against her shoulders. She had painted nails, make up, high heels, the whole shebang.

The text she received told her that Waverly was outside, ready to drop her off at her date. She was begging Abbie to say she wasn't available, but she wasn't that lucky. The girl was great, she knew she'd have a laugh, but it wasn't the right date to dress up this way. She didn't do this unless she was seriously invested, and she knew she wasn't.

She raced out to the truck, feeling highly embarrassed about being so overdressed, she was thankful not to have bumped into any of her neighbours. She threw the truck door open as soon as she got there, jumping in as fast as she could.

"Oh hey! I was just looking for.." Waverly started, only to trail off as she looked at Nicole's outfit. Waverly's stare only added to her insecurity, she knew she was too overdressed. She cleared her throat, facing forward and starting the engine. "That is a killer outfit, Abbie is a lucky lady." She complimented.

The drive was relatively silent, Waverly had flicked on the radio, so Nicole spent the majority of the time humming along to the music.

When they arrived, Nicole was incredibly reluctant to leave. She didn't want to do this at all. Waverly looked her way, a hint of a smile on her face, patient as ever.

"If I just, saaaay, didn't go.. Would that be so bad?" Nicole asked, hoping for reassurance.

A look flicked across Waverly's face, one Nicole failed to read, before she huffed. "You'll have fun, silly. Here, take this!" Waverly said, before handing her a small earpiece.

"God Waverly, we're not FBI agents, what's this for?" Nicole questioned with an exasperated laugh, taking the device anyway.

"I know you think you're smooth, but recent evidence suggests that your game is.. Somewhat rusty.. So I'm going to be there to help steer you in the right direction!" Waverly exclaimed. "Now stop asking questions and get out there before you're the late date!" And with that, Nicole was being shoved out of the car.

***

One things for sure, despite all her worrying, she actually felt underdressed. The restaurant was a five star establishment, it felt like the kind of place only celebrity's use. It was so extravagant that Nicole felt incredibly out of place. It was the kind of place that indecipherable artwork that you couldn't wrap your head around and a bar with drinks that could max out your credit card. It was crazy, and it certainly wasn't Nicole's kind of thing.

When Nicole sat down, she phoned Waverly.

"What's it like in there?" Was Waverly's first question, and Nicole paused before answering, looking around her.

"It's the kind of place that would look down at people for talking to themselves, Waverly." Nicole whisper yelled when she knew that nobody was around to hear her. "I've also never seen so many candles on one table before, there won't be enough room for food!" She exclaimed in astonishment. She heard Waverly giggling into her ear, which made her grin.

"What's so funny, Honey?"

Nicole abruptly stopped laughing, standing up to greet Abbie. "Hey! Sorry, I was admiring the Art, I just like art so much." Nicole rushed out anxiously, gesturing for Abbie to sit down opposite her.

She heard a "Wow, so smooth, Haught." Whispered into her ear, causing her to scowl slightly, "You look gorgeous." Escaped her mouth in an effort to redeem herself, and she felt like Waverly's silence was proof enough that it was a good move.

"You don't look so bad yourself." was the raspy reply from the woman facing her, causing Nicole to blush. She heard a mutter in her ear, but she could hardly stop to ask what she was thinking mid-date, so she ignored it.

***

The date was pretty standard; expensive wine, one mouthful sized food, general conversation. It didn't scream incredible, and it didn't give Nicole that spark-type feeling she hoped for. She was kind of gutted, really. It would have been easier to crush on someone she could at least have some fun with.

She couldn't fault it, the night was good, as expected. It was easy, and simple. Nicole spent the whole night doing the typical things expected when taking someone on a date. But, as sweet as Abbie was, and as romantic as the date was, it just felt ordinary, it didn't feel exciting, it didn't fill her with butterflies, and it didn't leave her wanting more.

Half way through the date, Waverly hung up the call. She was kind of gutted, having Waverly there was comforting, even if Nicole couldn't reply to all the little comments she made.

They both exited the restaurant, and headed towards Abbie's car. Nicole stole a glance at Waverly in her truck, she was sat back in the chair trying to look natural but she was following Nicole's every move. Nicole shook her head slightly, that girl loves drama. When they got to the car, Nicole lent in and hugged her. When they parted Abbie looked at her and tilted her head slightly, causing Nicole to raise her eyebrow.

"It's her, isn't it?" Abbie asked, leaning against the car, eyes on the floor. Nicole frowned at the question, not understanding. Abbie looked up, saw Nicole's reaction and rolled her eyes. "That girl, the other night. Your ex, right?" Nicole couldn't really sit there and deny the 'ex' part, after what Waverly said, that would require far too much explaining. "You're still into her, aren't you?" She questioned, confident in her accusation.

"It's not like that." Nicole stated, she didn't want to admit it to herself, so god knows she wouldn't admit it to this woman.

"So it's just a coincidence that she's sat in the truck watching us then?" Abbie disputed, her gaze momentarily finding the direction of the truck, though it returned just as quickly as it had left. Nicole brought her hand up to her own neck, scratching the skin there nervously. "It's okay, I get it." She moved closer slightly, placing her hand on Nicole's waist, pulling her closer and wrapping her hand around her neck, pulling her nearer. "But it doesn't mean I can't help you out a little along the way." She whispered, before leaning forward and kissing her.

It wasn't a Waverly kiss, by all means. It wasn't soft and gentle, it didn't give her butterflies. But it was sexy and appealing, and she didn't have any problem reciprocating. It was over practically as soon as it began, Abbie pulled away with a small smile, hopping into her car.

"If ever you do find that you're over her, I'll be around, okay?" She said, thankfully not waiting for a reply before turning the engine on and making a move. Nicole watched her drive away before walking towards Waverly's truck. She hopped in and leant back in the chair with a sigh.

"That good, huh?" Waverly asked, she was facing straight ahead, fiddling with the hands she had draped over the steering wheel.

"It was okay." Nicole said, leaning forward in the seat. "I didn't know what I was doing though, since my wingwoman up-and-left half way through the date." She continued with a laugh.

"It looked like you didn't need me, if that kiss was anything to go by." She commented, starting the engine.

"It was alright, but I know I've had better." Nicole commented, looking over at Waverly. The brunette didn't look round, she kept her eyes on the road, not even wavering. She seemed sad, which concerned Nicole. "hHy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, totally, why wouldn't I be?" Waverly answered, Nicole didn't want to push and she seemed to perk up slightly after that so she let it slide.

***

When they made it back to Nicole's, Waverly got out to walk her to the door.

"Oooh, Miss Earp, it seems chivalry isn't dead after all." Nicole joked, which earned her a playful shove in the side. They made the short walk to the entrance, both stopping and shuffling their feet awkwardly. "So, this is me.." Nicole trailed off, laughing and winking at Waverly to let her know she was kidding.

Waverly scowled, pretending to be angry. "Oh so two dates in one night, huh?" She crossed her arms and huffed, "It's unacceptable." She finished, before caving and letting out this adorable little giggle that made Nicole's heart melt. She stared at the shorter girl, and it felt like someone flicked a switch inside her, because one minute she was looking at her and the next minute she had her hands in her hair, kissing her as softly and passionately as she possibly could.

For a moment Waverly didn't react, which made Nicole's stomach drop. She didn't want it. Then, just as Nicole planned on pulling away, she reacted, moving into the kiss. Then she was capturing Nicole's bottom lip in hers and she was nibbling and it was just so, so good. She had her hands running up and down Nicole's back, her fingers tracing patterns as she went, and this is the softness and butterflies she'd been missing. This is what she wanted. She didn't want to mess around with girls she didn't care about, not when she could be with someone who makes her feel this good and this happy.

Waverly pulled away then, looking up at her with this tender look that made her stomach flip like crazy. One of the hands on Nicole's waist dragged up, traced a line up the side of her body and dragged across her neck until she met her jaw. She turned her jaw so that her mouth met Nicole's ear, causing goose bumps to erupt all over her body, and then she spoke.

"That girl will be talking to the whooole town about that kiss." With a wave towards the girl crossing the street for good measure, "The plans going to be perfectly in place for when your family comes." She reassured with a nervous laugh before turning to leave. "We can talk more about it tomorrow, have a nice night." She said, before making a hasty exit.

Nicole knelt down on the spot, putting her head in her hands, sighing. Of course the only time she builds up the courage to actually show Waverly how she feels, she goes ahead and thinks its part of the stupid plan.

This damn idea was the worst.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Monday -

After a lot of prep and stress and drama, it was almost time for Nicole's family to visit, and Nicole was beyond anxious about it.

Not necessarily about Waverly because she knew for a fact that she was the perfect person, and that she'd be adored. What really made her nervous was the fact that she was lying about it, there were so many opportunities for someone to slip up and ruin the façade, and if her parents knew she had lied, she would never hear the end of it.

On top of that, there was the fact that this whole thing would be torture for Nicole, it had already proved to be a huge, painful process. As well as the embarrassment from her almost-confession. They hadn't spoken about it since, which Nicole was absolutely okay with.

The sound of a phone ringing brought Nicole away from her inner turmoil, which she was glad about. With a grunt, she lifted herself off of the sofa, dragging herself over to the phone on a shelf by the front door.

"Nicole Haught speaking." She greeted, politely.

"Have you been in an accident that wasn't your fault-" The voice started, and Nicole recognised it straight away; it was her sister. She smirked, removed the phone from her ear and ended the call. She grinned mischievously, waiting for the familiar ring to fill the room again, answering immediately when it did. "Rude!" Was the shocked retort she received in response to Nicole's joke.

"Oh sorry, who is this?" Nicole continued, easily masking her laughter with a serious, professional voice.

"Your sister, you little brat!" Nancy hurled through the phone in astonishment, causing Nicole to chuckle lightly.

"Oooh, you should have just said so!" Nicole laughed, walking back over to the sofa to sit down, "Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Nicole teased, putting on a heavy British accent. She heard a deep sigh and instantly knew that her sister was rolling her eyes at her.

"I wanted to make sure you had remembered that we were coming." Her sister stated, causing Nicole to sigh.

"How could I forget?" She muttered, playing with a loose thread on her baggy T-shirt.

"Wow Nic, cool down that excitement, don't want to seem too overeager." Nancy deadpanned, offended.

"It's just going to be difficult.." Nicole trailed off, huffing slightly in reluctance. The silence on the other end of the line told her that Nancy wanted to know the reason why. So she rubbed her face with her palm of her hand in frustration, before relenting. "That idea you had a few weeks ago, do you remember it?" Nicole started, hearing a hum of acknowledgement, "Well, I did it."

It was silent for a moment, but it wasn't long before Nicole had a dozen and one questions hurled her way, causing her to frown apprehensively. "It's Waverly. Waverly's helping." She uttered, followed by more silence.

"Nicole, honey.. Are you okay with that?" Nancy questioned timidly, surprising Nicole. She could hear some kind of shuffling on the other end of the phone, and then the distinct sound of a door closing, before Nancy spoke again. "Listen, I know we don't talk about this often, but I know you." She started, her tone hushed, "I know that you're crazy about her-"

"Nancy, stop." Nicole interrupted, "It's a crush. A stupid, useless crush. It'll pass. This might even help." Nicole vocalised, her voice small, before she shook her head and forced herself to sound more upbeat. "It will help. I'll get it out of my system. It's no biggie. She's just helping out." Nicole finished, a hint of determination in her tone. Her sister began to speak, most likely to argue her point, but Nicole didn't let her get there. "Who'll be coming?"

She heard Nancy sigh in defeat, before she answered, "Me, Daddy, Mama, James, and the kids. They're all so excited to see you, Nic." Her sister stated, sincerely. Nicole felt her eyes sting with tears, a reminder of just how much she had missed her family, and how hard it had been without them. "The kids especially, they adore you. They can't wait for you to do that airplane thing you always used to do with them." She chuckled in amusement, Nicole couldn't help but join in.

"Let's hope I can still lift them then, huh?" Nicole joked, knowing full well that she would. Thomas was five and Jane was three so it wouldn't be an issue at all.

"Even if you couldn't, you'd have to find a way, once Thomas has his heart set on something there's no going back." Nancy snickered, knowing that he would be running Nicole around like crazy the whole time.

"So how long will it be for?" Nicole asked, wanting to be fully prepared.

"One week minimum, two weeks max." The elder Haught answered, tentatively, "That's okay, right?" Her voice flooding with guilt.

Nicole laughed anxiously, "You know I have no choice in the matter either way, so what's the point getting upset about it?" Nicole replied, she looked over at the clock on the wall, knowing she had to get ready for work soon. She groaned sorrowfully, before deciding that she really should get going. "Listen Nance I've got to get going, but I can't wait to see you." Nicole told her, truthfully. "I love you, I'll see you real soon." Nicole heard her sister say her goodbyes, but just before she hung up, she called her sisters name.

"Yeah?" Was her confused response, causing Nicole to smile slightly.

"Please don't leave it till the last minute to pack, the plane doesn't wait, you know that first hand." Nicole told her sternly, holding back a snort at the memory of a flushed looking Nancy arriving at the hotel in Italy a whole day late because she had missed her first flight so then had to wait for another. You'd think she'd learn her lesson, but she's almost missed five flights since then for the same reason.

Nancy roared with laughter, finding the memory absolutely hilarious. "You couldn't stop laughing for hours, so I think it was worth it." She stated proudly, causing Nicole to smile softly.

"I need you here to help me though so if you miss it I'm not letting anyone in." Nicole threatened, knowing full well that she'd never actually ignore them if that did happen, but it didn't hurt to use some light encouragement in order to keep things running smoothly.

"Bye Nicoooole." Her sister sing-songed.

"Bye Nancyyyy." Nicole echoed. She heard the line click, letting her know that her sister had hung up. She got up and placed the phone back on its stand, before hopping into the shower and getting ready for work.

As much as she complains about it, she's really excited to see her family again, even if she knows how hard it's going to be at the same time. She's really missed them, even her mum's nagging and the kids crying. The whole home environment always managed to make her heart feel whole.

She chanced another glance at the clock, her eyes widening comically at how little time she had left to get ready, she cursed under her breath, rushing to the bathroom to shower.

***

Desk duty was the worst, she was completely swimming in paperwork and it felt like she'd never get it finished. She snuck a glance at the clock on the wall above the door, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop for a lunchbreak at this rate. She threw her head in her hands in exasperation, she hadn't even been there for half her shift and she already felt exhausted.

"That bad, huh?" A soft voice asked, causing Nicole to jump, hitting her knee in the process. "Oh- Sorry." She muttered apologetically.

Nicole waved a hand in her direction, dismissing the apology. "It's my fault." She reassured, biting her lip to hold in the curse words threating to come out at the pain. She rubbed her face with both of her hands, before finally glancing over at the other woman. She kind of wished she hadn't, because she looked so good it killed her, she had on a gorgeous dark blue sleeveless summer's dress that was respectively short and flowy, showing off her toned legs. She had her hair up in a messy bun that also managed to be sophisticated, with a few strands falling to frame her face. She looked absolutely beautiful. Nicole practically had to tear her eyes away because she didn't want to get caught staring.

She picked up her pen and started to fill in the forms, chancing a glance every now and then, making sure to make it short each time. "What're you here for, is everything okay?" She questioned, her concern evident in her tone.

"Oh! No, it's nothing to worry about, don't worry!" She started, quick to reassure her, her hands flying around in the air in her haste to calm the other girl down, "I just thought you might want some lunch, and a coffee, maybe?" She offered, anxiously. Nicole's eyebrows shot up, seemingly causing the shorter girl to panic, "Unless you're busy, you look busy, god I'm so sorry, I just thought that you might want some company while you-"

Nicole reached forward in her chair, stretching her hand out in Waverly's direction on the desk in an effort to catch her attention, before she stood from her chair. She walked over to one of the empty desks near her, grabbing a comfy chair and tugging it over to her own desk. "Sit with me?" she asked, placing the chair next to hers. Waverly's smile went from timid to ecstatic instantly, before she practically bounced ever and flopped down into the seat. "So, what're we eating?" Nicole questioned with a grin, rubbing her hands together in excitement.

Waverly jumped into action, pulling tubs out of the bag she had dropped by the desk when she arrived, placing them on the table before grabbing cutlery and their coffees. Nicole opened one of the tubs to find a tomato pasta that smelt like heaven, she pulled over the coffee and the smell instantly engulfed her senses, causing a content smile to cross her face. "Oh I could so get used to this." She gushed joyfully, eager to jump in and eat something other than chocolate bars from the machines in the hallway. She took her first bite, moaning in delight, before turning to look at Waverly. The shorter girl had turned red, causing Nicole to frown. "You okay?"

Waverly looked like a deer caught in headlights, her face was completely flushed and she seemed lost for words for a moment. "I just.. Nobody's ever really appreciated something I've done this much before, that's all." She muttered in embarrassment, looking down at her food shyly. Nicole scanned the room, noticing that the other officers were keeping one eye on their interaction, word does travel fast. Then she looked over at Waverly, noticing how insecure she looked. She threw caution to the wind and reached over, pulling Waverly's chair over so they were closer. She draped her arm over the shorter girl's chair, leaning forward to kiss her softly on the temple.

"Well I for one am extremely appreciative, this is absolutely delicious, Waves." Nicole comforted her, her words truthful and sincere. She placed another forkful of food in her mouth for good measure, humming in delight. Waverly looked elated with the compliments, her eyes shining happily and her cheeks glowing red. It was a crazy concept for Nicole to think that Waverly hasn't had much in the way of compliments and positive reinforcement throughout her life. It makes her want to point out every good thing Waverly does so she can see that it is being noticed rather than the brunette constantly feeling overshadowed.

"Anyway.." Nicole continued, removing her arm from behind Waverly's seat, causing the shorter girl to frown. "Eat up Earp, we can't let good food go to waste." Nicole stated, sitting back in her seat. She placed her fork in her tub so she had one free hand, using it to slap her legs, gesturing for Waverly to put her feet up. Waverly looked at Nicole's legs, then her face and then her legs again, looking unsure. "Come on, Waves. You can't leave me hanging." She joked, winking. Waverly's smile started small, but it grew quickly. Finally she lifted her legs up and placed them over the red heads, tentatively at first, but she loosened up when Nicole threw her free hand over one of them and squeezed. Waverly dug into her food, causing Nicole to smile. Her stare lingered slightly, the hand on Waverly's leg moving to rub her knee slightly before she removed it to continue eating her lunch too.

She decided that desk duty wasn't so bad after all, not when you have a beautiful girl with great food keeping you company while you work.

But this kind of happy was undeniably dangerous, especially when she knew it was only temporary.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Tuesday –

Nicole was really feeling the pressure now, knowing that her family would be in Purgatory tomorrow. Nancy had texted her the details, informing her that they would arrive at about 4PM, so Nicole was trying to sort out the sleeping arrangements.

She decided that she would move to the sofa so that her parents would sleep in Nicole's bed, while Nancy and her husband slept in the spare room. Now she just had to work out where the kids would sleep. She sat herself down on the sofa, scratching her head in frustration, before an idea hit her. She whipped out her phone, hit the phone icon and clicked on her favourites.

Waverly's name sat there, proud as punch, on the top of the queue. Waverly loved sending Nicole pictures of cute animals, and letting Nicole know whenever something exciting was happening. She also had trouble sleeping, what with her late nights working at Shorty's, so they'd often end up texting throughout the evening too. Hilariously, Wynonna was her second favourite contact, though that was because she loved sending Nicole crude jokes while they were in public, since it always managed to turn Nicole as red as a tomato.

Nicole chuckled to herself at the memory, before she shook her head and pressed Waverly's name. She placed the phone by her ear and waited, pulling at a thread on her pyjama's as she went. She had bright pink, silky pyjamas. They were a present from Wynonna, of all people. She decided that Nicole's old cartoon sheep-covered shirt and trousers weren't good enough. She planned on throwing the new ones away, but Waverly insisted that they actually looked great and really suited her, so she'd caved and kept them.

"Nicole! Hey!" Waverly greeted eagerly, immediately putting a smile on Nicole's face.

"Hey Waverly, I had a question.." Nicole started, pausing to make sure Waverly was listening, her hum of acknowledgement stirring her on, "How many spare blankets do you have?" A smirk on her face.

***

Nicole had explained her plan to Waverly, and then she had brought over everything she needed, and then some.

"Woah Waves, what's all this?" Nicole questioned with a snicker, noticing Waverly's blush despite being a few meters away. Waverly huffed sheepishly, her eyes scanning over her truck, the back being stuffed with an array of different covers, pillows, mattresses and sheets. "It's going to take us the whole day just getting everything up!" She exclaimed humorously, her grin gigantic.

"Ooooh don't exaggerate! Come on, let's get it upstairs!" She howled, though the giggling took any malice out of the demand, the comical way she threw her arms around in the direction of the door also helped.

They started grabbing bags from the back, speedily lifting them to the elevator and then into Nicole's apartment. I'd didn't take as long as Nicole had originally thought, which she was thankful for, because she had a lot of work on her hands. Once they'd carried in the four mattresses Waverly had decided to bring with them, they stopped for a much needed coffee break.

They both grabbed a coffee and headed to the sofa, throwing themselves down with an exhausted grunt.

"You're a lifesaver, Waves. Thank you so much." Nicole insisted gratefully, throwing her a warm smile that Waverly returned wholeheartedly.

"So, where do we start?" Waverly questioned, causing the other woman to raise an eyebrow curiously, "What, you thought I'd bring all this stuff and not help?" She continued, laughing.

They finished their drinks and made their way into the spare room where Nancy, her husbands and their kids would sleep. Nicole scratched her head in irritation, not knowing quite where to start.

"Okay, so I have an idea." Waverly stated, but the hesitation in her voice caused Nicole to stop and look at her, "Are you okay with having a few nails in your walls?" Waverly asked, and Nicole shook her head in answer. "Good! Okay so we put Thomas in this corner, and Jane in that one, that leaves enough space between each bed so everyone can get in and out when they want. I have some spare wood in the car, so if we make a frame, we can drape the sheets over it so they have their own little personal fort. So, one piece of wood here, one across there, some little pieces under them for support, we'll cut the sheets so there is a door at the end, and voila!" Waverly rambled, waving her arms around and pointing. And if Nicole was being honest, she had absolutely no idea what Waverly had just explained.

Waverly noticed her blank expression, so she patted Nicole on the arm, "I'll be the brains of the operation." She joked, with a wink. Nicole pouted.

"But you're the muscle of the operation too, what will I be?" Nicole whined, looking at how toned Waverly's arms were.

"You'll be the cutie in the corner keeping me company." Waverly laughed, before making her way out of the apartment to go grab wood and tools. Nicole stood on the spot, biting her lip nervously. It was friendly and jokey, but it felt like Waverly might've been flirting a little with her too. But Nicole didn't want to sit and delude herself, friends say those kind of things to each other all the time, it doesn't mean it has any real meaning in it.

Her stupid brain would get her into trouble one day.

***

Waverly got straight to work, screwing wood and hammering nails, and honestly the whole image was driving Nicole insane. Her muscles jerked with each activity, and Nicole stood there uselessly, begging her eyes to focus on anything else. But then they ended up focusing on her behind whenever she bent down instead, which wasn't quite what Nicole had in mind.

Nicole busied herself in the kitchen, child proofing the house. She was about to have two children under five in her house, and she didn't want to have anything put them in danger. She'd moved all the glass and all the small objects out of the way, she'd put up child proof gates, she'd put little locks on the cupboards and she'd unboxed a few toys Waverly had brought over earlier.

She heard a muffled "Nicoleee!" come from the direction of the spare room so she stood up off the floor, nudged the toys over to the side of the room and made her way over to Waverly. When she walked in, she gasped in amazement.

The room had surpassed every expectation Nicole had for it. The frame she had made came out about two meters away from the wall, and four meters across, meeting up with the corner of the room. She took the white sheets and stapled them into the wooden frame so they'd stay in place if the kids pulled on them at any point, then she'd placed fairy lights along the top and around the entrance of the fort so the kids knew where to get in. She'd brought round some of the many soft toys she owned, one being a huge dinosaur for Thomas, and the other being a gigantic unicorn for Jane. It was absolutely perfect, and she knew the kids would adore it.

"Waves this is.. This is beautiful." Nicole breathed, blown away by the effort Waverly had put into it.

"Oh, it was nothing." Waverly waved off, bashfully. A small, shy grin on her face. Nicole suddenly squinted at her, causing Waverly's smile to fall slightly, "What?"

"You're going to make someone so, so happy." Nicole stated, honestly. She looked around the room at all Waverly's hard work, rather than looking at Waverly herself, feeling too nervous to see her reaction. Waverly smiled, though it was small. "You're the whole package, you know?" Nicole whispered, "Whoever the lucky guy is, he'd better realise that." Nicole finished, quietly.

The silence dragged, so Nicole moved herself over to one of the forts, climbing in. The frame was about 4 feet high, so she had to crouch down and crawl in, but when she finally settled down in there, it was really nice. There were pillows and blankets, and Waverly had even given them blow up mattresses. It was so snug that Nicole kind of wished that she had one. She leant her back against the wall, watching the fairy lights twinkle softly.

A moment later, Waverly crawled in too, settling down next to Nicole.

Nicole wasn't sure why, but everything seemed simpler under twinkling lights.

They sat in comfortable silence for a little while, letting themselves enjoy the small things. The lights, the silence, the lack of complications.

"Do you really think someone would be lucky to have me?" Waverly asked, cutting through the peace. Nicole looked her way, but the other girl had her eyes downcast.

"Without a doubt." Nicole insisted, softly. Waverly still seemed unsure, her insecurity was palpable. She had her knees against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. "You deserve somebody who will buy you flowers, and watch your favourite films with you, and bake with you because they know it makes you smile." Nicole listed off, watching as Waverly lifted her head ever so slightly; a sign that she was acknowledging what she was saying. Nicole reached over with her right hand, peeling Waverly's left arm away from her legs, before intertwining their hands together. She squeezed it soothingly, before whispering, "You deserve someone who will cry on your wedding day because they are just so happy." She paused, looking down at their hands sadly, knowing that she would do all those things, but accepting that it couldn't be her. "You deserve someone who will do all of those things for you, because I know you'll do all of those things for them." Nicole stated, confidently. She knew that Waverly would make whoever she was with so happy. She knew she'd go above and beyond for them. "And I'm telling you, if he isn't crying on your wedding day, I'll punch him and kick him out myself." Nicole chuckled, it was light and comforting, but it held a certain kind of sadness to it.

"I couldn't put all the effort into it just for it to not happen though, that's just crazy, and there'd be so much uneaten cake." Waverly exclaimed, appalled at the thought. Nicole chuckled, shaking her head at the other girl.

"I tell you what, as I'm the one kicking your fiancé out, I suppose I'll marry you." Nicole offered, laughing. "For the sake of the cake, of course." She added, nudging Waverly teasingly. Waverly looked up at her then, a shy smile slowly appearing.

"You don't think you'll already be snatched up by then?" Waverly questioned her, peering up at her in a way that just made Nicole's stomach flutter like crazy.

"I doubt it, Calamity Jane hates new people." Nicole laughed, grinning over at the other girl.

"CJ loves me." Waverly boasted, stretching her legs out in front of her, her toes poking out of the sheet. Nicole took it as a silent achievement because Waverly looked much more relaxed now. "So I suppose that would work." She giggled.

Nicole stroked the other woman's hand with her thumb, turning to stare straight ahead. "Or if worse comes to worst and you decide I look too gross or something we can just throw Dolls and Wynonna together instead." She commented humorously, the image of Wynonna getting married seeming quite odd in Nicole's eyes.

"I don't think it's possible for you to ever look gross." Waverly stated, definitively. It made Nicole's heart pound in her chest.

Hearing those words come from Waverly's mouth only fuelled the feelings she had for her, the thought that Waverly found her even slightly appealing to look at making her stomach flip frantically.

They both looked at each other, trying to understand what the other was feeling. Nicole had never wished she could read minds more in her life. As Nicole opened her mouth to speak, an obnoxiously loud ringing filled the space, causing them both to jump. Waverly reached into her pocket to grab her phone, grumbling angrily as she went.

"Hello?" She snapped irritably. Nicole kind of felt bad for whoever was on the other end, she wouldn't like to be the recipient of that tone. "You did what? Wynon- Ugh! I'm on my wa- yes! Okay, I'll leave now! Wha- no!" Waverly looked over at Nicole nervously, her cheeks clearly turning red despite the dim lighting in the fort. "I won't be long, okay? See you soon." She finished before hanging up.

She paused, before turning to Nicole, "Wynonna kind of set the house on fire." She huffed out, at Nicole's panicked look, she continued, "Everything's okay, it wasn't too bad, she just doesn't want to deal with the clean-up." Waverly insisted, sheepishly.

"God Waves, lead with that next time!" Nicole threw out while trying to steady her racing heart.

"Sorry." Waverly said sincerely, she squeezed Nicole's hand once more before pulling away, causing Nicole to frown slightly. "I have to go, I'm sorry, but I can come over early tomorrow?" Waverly offered, starting to move out of the fort and towards the door. Nicole climbed out too, following close behind.

"Yeah, of course." She confirmed, "I need to go get some shopping tomorrow, I've got to find something they'll all eat." Nicole started, rolling her eyes at her fussy family, "You're more than welcome to join me?" She questioned, smiling to hide how desperately she wanted Waverly to say yes.

"I'd really like that." Waverly stated, gladly accepting the offer. She was half way out the door when she stopped, turning around excitedly. "Can I cook dinner, tomorrow? I could make sure it's ready for about an hour after they arrive?" She asked, causing Nicole's eyebrow to shoot up in surprise.

"You don't have to do that, Waves. James is a vegetarian and my family is so fussy, I don't want it to stress you out." Nicole warned, biting her lip.

"Well, we can have a look at stuff tomorrow, okay?" Waverly suggested, though Nicole could already see the determination to impress shining in her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan." Nicole replied, grinning slightly.

"Goodnight, Nicole." Waverly mumbled, leaning against the doorframe, she looked so beautiful, it made it hard not to kiss her.

"Goodnight, Waverly." Nicole echoed, watching her go.

She walked back into the spare room, wrapping her arms around herself, leaning against the door frame. She admired the two forts yet again, her admiration for Waverly clouding her senses slightly.

She whipped out her phone, finding Waverly's name on her messages. She frowned slightly in thought, debating whether it was a good idea to send the message she wanted to send. She wrote it out, before reading it over, seven times.

Nicole: - If it were me, I'd cry -

It was simple, it was short. It was almost nothing. It was only six words.

But it held so much in it. She may as well be wrapping her heart up and physically giving it to Waverly. It was a declaration, one she couldn't just reverse if Waverly didn't feel the same. Nicole sighed, locking her phone instead.

She just couldn't do it.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Wednesday – Part 1

"To whoever is listening, please.. Give me strength." Nicole whispered desperately to the ceiling, in the quiet of her room. She'd been awake for a while, simply enjoying the silence. She knew that her boisterous family would keep her on her toes for the entirety of their stay, so she allowed herself a moment to indulge. She knew one thing for a fact, it certainly would be the calm before the storm.

It wasn't all bad thoughts though, she couldn't wait to see them, she'd really missed her sister's snarky comments, she had missed the bickering between her Mama and Daddy, James always knew how to make her laugh, and Nicole really had missed having the kids around the place.

The plan was the only thing that really worried her. She didn't want to get caught out. And she really, really didn't want to look like she enjoyed it too much. She didn't want Wynonna or Rosita to question every move she made around Waverly. And the thought that Waverly might notice terrified her, her throat closing up in fear at the very thought of it.

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts, forcing her to scurry out of bed and answer.

"Hey!" Waverly greeted with a huge grin, before Nicole watched her eyes wonder over her attire. She hadn't gotten dressed yet so she was still in her bed shorts and tank top, entirely underdressed. She covered herself sheepishly, choosing to hide behind the door slightly, gesturing for Waverly to come in. The other girl looked extremely red faced, looking at anything but her.

"Sorry Waves, I'm not even ready to go." Nicole apologised, pushing the door closed quietly, before beginning to walk towards her room. She stopped though, turning back to Waverly, who seemed lost in thought, leaning against the sofa. "I'm just going to shower real quick, that okay?" Nicole questioned softly, coaxing Waverly out of her daydream. She looked up quickly, glancing in Nicole's direction before abruptly standing and walking over to the kitchen, out of sight.

"N-not a problem, I'll just get some coffees ready!" Waverly squeaked out before Nicole heard the distinct sound of the instant coffee falling to the floor and a mumbled "Shitsticks.". Nicole chuckled quietly to herself, shaking her head. She made her way into her room, quickly gathering some clean clothes up before heading to the bathroom.

The water was hot, that's the thought Nicole focussed on. Or tried to. She'd rather that than the fact that she was naked in one room while Waverly was in the other. It made her nervous to even think about. It also brought with it some extremely inappropriate thoughts that only complicated their situation more. Nicole threw herself completely under the spray of the shower, letting it splash over her face in the hope that it might wash away all the terrible thoughts she was having.

Despite wanting to stay there forever and avoid responsibility, she forced herself out of the shower. It was freezing cold when she stepped out, causing her to shiver and throw a towel around herself as fast as humanly possible. She made quick work of drying and getting dressed, pulling on her socks and underwear before throwing on her smart black jeans and a low cut pale turquoise jumper that hugged her body and showcased her collarbones, effectively showing off her figure. Her Mama always complained that she covered herself up too much, so hopefully she wouldn't get that comment when they arrived.

She brushed her teeth and rubbed her wet hair with a towel, deciding not to do anything else with it, knowing it would look nice enough with natural waves in it. After wasting enough time checking her appearance anxiously, convincing herself it was to avoid her family's judgement rather than to impress Waverly, she decided to finally join the other girl.

The smell of coffee engulfed her senses as soon as she entered the living room, causing her to close her eyes briefly in happiness. Waverly had been wearing a coat before but now she was showing off a tight black turtleneck top with matching black jeans and it managed to both highlight how toned her stomach and arms were while simultaneously maintaining an air of sophistication and grace. Nicole had never seen her wear anything like this but it suited her perfectly.

"That's new." Her tone a mix between a question and a statement. Waverly turned to look at Nicole before following her eyes to her outfit, looking down.

"I was going with elegant." Waverly started, jokingly throwing her arms out in a pose, before standing up straight again, her expression serious. "I want them to see that I'm good enough to date their daughter. I didn't want to seem immature, or insincere, or obsessed with my image.. How am I doing?" Waverly asked, suddenly. Her eyes screamed insecure, and it made Nicole feel terrible for putting her into a situation that made her feel that way.

"You look.." Nicole paused, toying with what word to use, worry etched into every interaction they shared in fear of expressing too much. But this time, she thought that maybe too much was exactly what Waverly needed. "You look so beautiful." Nicole breathed, honestly. It was the right decision because then Waverly wore a soft grin, one that showed off all the joyful lines in her face, expressing relief and happiness all at once. "Just for the record though, they wouldn't have thought that." Nicole begun, "And even if they did, one sentence out of your mouth would show everybody the selfless, intelligent, funny Waverly I get the pleasure of seeing every day."

Waverly's grin turned into a closed-lipped smile but somehow it still managed to express just as much delight and gratitude. They gazed at each other for a moment too long, before Waverly suddenly jerked her eyes away, moving herself out of the room. "We should get going, we have so much to buy!" She rambled, flustered.

Nicole pouted, looking over at the counter. "But I didn't even get my coffee." She grumbled, sadly.

"I'll treat you, let's go!" Waverly rushed, gesturing for Nicole to get a move on. She decided not to argue, instead she simply rolled her eyes and made her way out the door.

***

They found themselves at the supermarket, with Waverly happily pushing the cart while Nicole searched the isles for what they'd need.

"Are you against lists or something? This would have been much easier with one." Waverly mumbled, watching Nicole as she pondered whether they'd need to go down a particular isle.

"I normally do actually but I couldn't find my phone this morning." Nicole stated, frowning. "Oh! The kids love these!" She suddenly exclaimed, grabbing a pack of animal shaped chocolate biscuits. "Jane used to sit in her little highchair nibbling on these for ages, and if you ever tried to grab one for yourself, she'd get so upset and cry until you backed away, it was hilarious." Nicole shared, beaming at the memory. "Obviously Thomas noticed and always tried to take them. I felt really bad for Nancy and James.. And the Neighbours.." She trailed off, chuckling to herself. "I actually love these things, they taste so good." Nicole laughed, throwing the pack in the cart before grabbing two more, tossing those in there too. She looked over at Waverly and saw her smiling to herself, "What?"

Waverly looked up at her, before smiling more hesitantly. "It sounds kinda silly, but I really like hearing about the Nicole I don't know. There's all these things I don't know, and it's really exciting when you let me in on all that stuff."

I'm sure my family will give you enough stories to last you a lifetime." Nicole deadpanned, knowing that her family would love to embarrass her, especially with Waverly there.

"I don't think there's such a thing as enough when it comes to learning about you." Waverly whispered, gently. Nicole looked her way but chose to say nothing, not knowing what the right thing to say would be. Instead she decided to change the subject, finding safer territory.

"What's on the agenda for dinner?" She asked, grabbing different things as they went, chucking them into the cart.

"You'll find out later, Silly." Waverly stated, the vulnerability from moments ago gone, replaced with a playful roll of the eyes, laughing at Nicole's impatience.

Nicole thought they'd be much more rushed for time but they had actually gotten all the shopping done relatively fast, causing her to sigh in relief. Waverly was starting to show signs of nervousness now though, if her rambling and jittery hands were anything to go by.

When they got in, Waverly immediately took the bags with dinner in and started to unpack, placing everything neatly on the counter. While she did that, Nicole began putting the rest of the shopping away. They bounced around each other easily, Waverly began prepping the vegetables while Nicole leant around her to put things in cupboards. Some stuff needed to be in the cupboards above Waverly, so Nicole placed her hand on the other woman's back, leaning over her to put the tins in the tin cupboard, and the snacks in the snack section.

She tried not to focus on the fact that Waverly's back was flush against Nicole's front, though it was practically impossible. She managed to control her breathing and keep the situation as light as she could, even if Waverly didn't seem to notice her predicament. It was another painful reminder that this was entirely fake and temporarily.

It took her a little while, but eventually everything had been placed in their designated spot, leaving Nicole with no jobs.

"Anything I can help with?" Nicole offered, looking over Waverly's shoulder to see how she was getting on. She'd hardly gotten a glimpse before Waverly was turning around, softly pushing Nicole out of the room, causing her to pout sadly.

"This isn't just a treat for your family, it's a treat for you too. Go relax, okay?" Waverly told her, forcing Nicole to look around the room hesitantly, finding nothing to do. "You'll find something." Waverly laughed, before turning and walking back into the kitchen.

Nicole decided to get the box of DVD's from under her bed, bringing them through to the living room so that everybody could watch a film if they wanted, she had quite a selection to choose from, so hopefully everybody would be happy.

"Is that what I think it is?" Waverly questioned, peering into the box. Nicole sheepishly covered it up.

"Don't you have cooking to do, Earp?" She snapped, but it had no real bite to it, only embarrassment.

"Nope, not for a little while." She grinned, pushing past Nicole and rustling through the box, grabbing the DVD she had originally seen. "Now I knoooow you didn't buy this recently." She accused with a chuckle, causing Nicole to blush.

"A lot of people have kids, it's good to be prepared." Nicole rushed out unconvincingly, reaching for the movie, but she wasn't fast enough as Waverly had thrown her arm out of the way. "Thomas and Jane love it, it's their favourite, and it's good to have it for when they visit!" She squeaked out, completely flustered.

"You're telling me that they like an old 1986 animated movie more than the likes of 'Frozen' and 'Moana'.. Really?"

"They're smart kids!" Nicole exclaimed, her embarrassment palpable. Waverly giggled at how panicked Nicole looked, desperate to convince her that it wasn't her choice to have it.

"Okay, okay!" She gave in, but there was a mischievous smirk on her face that told Nicole the conversation wasn't actually over yet. Waverly practically skipped back over to the kitchen while Nicole looked down at the movie and pouted. She gently placed it back into the box, pushing it closer to the wall, out of the way.

She was just about to sit herself down on the sofa, but something caught her attention. Waverly was humming a familiar tune to herself while stirring a pot. Nicole quietly walked over to her, pausing at the little arched entrance, her mind distracted momentarily by the fact that Waverly was in her kitchen cooking dinner for her and her family like it was the most normal thing in the world. It knocked the wind out of her, causing her to bite her lip and hold onto the wall for support.

Then she focussed on the humming again. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she also knew that Waverly was taunting her. She waited patiently, and sure enough, Waverly started to sing.

"Somewhereee, out thereee.." She started, and Nicole could practically hear that she was smirking.

"That's it!" Nicole hollered, launching at Waverly. The other woman shrieked, giggling as she dodged Nicole and ran into the living room, huffing out the song as she went.

"Beneath the paaale moon liiight!" She continued, blocking every attempt Nicole made to grab her. Nicole couldn't deny that Waverly was in much better shape than she was, especially when Nicole was heaving while Waverly hadn't even broken out into a sweat.

"Someooone's thinking ooof meee!" She persisted, climbing over the sofa effortlessly, before squatting and teasing Nicole by leaning one way in an attempt to trick her into going that direction but Nicole didn't take the bait, they both stood their ground, daring the other to make the first move.

"And loooving meee, toooni- Oh shit!" She persevered, stopping abruptly when Nicole suddenly leapt over the sofa, tackling her. They both landed in an embarrassing heap on the floor, laughing hysterically. "You really should take a girl out on a date before jumping her." Waverly teased, humorously.

"Don't flatter yourself, Earp." She chuckled, smiling. Then she realised just how close they were.

Waverly was lying flat out on the floor while Nicole leant over her, a hand resting on either side of Waverly's head to hold herself up. She had one knee on either side of Waverly's hips, practically straddling her. Waverly's hair had splayed out across the floor beautifully, it was so simple and so innocent, yet she looked absolutely breathtaking. The whole thing caused a lump to rise in her throat. She looked down at her, nibbling her bottom lip in thought.

Maybe Waverly deserved to know, maybe she should tell her so that Waverly knew everything before jumping into this situation. It wasn't fair for her to go through with this whole act while one of them had feelings for the other. She had to tell her, and she had to do it right now, before it was too late.

"Waves.." Nicole started, but in that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Too late.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

If she had time to pause for a minute and take in the situation, she's sure she'd find it absolutely hilarious.

Nicole and Waverly scrambled away from each other faster than a bullet, limbs flying around comically in an attempt to balance themselves. Waverly made a beeline for the kitchen to check dinner, while Nicole patted down her hair and clothes nervously. She heard another, more impatient knock at the door, forcing her to swallow down her anxiety and head for the door. She placed her hand on the handle, pausing momentarily.

She squeezed her eyes closed in embarrassment, thinking back to just moments ago when she had been set on telling Waverly her feelings. She thought that maybe this had been a sign, that telling Waverly wasn't the right decision.

If nothing else, it helped to calm her frustration at being interrupted.

She opened her eyes, staring the door down, before ultimately sighing helplessly and throwing it open.

Not more than a second later, she was being engulfed in a tight embrace. For a moment, Nicole was tense. She wasn't used to being hugged a lot, or being touched at all, for that matter. Her family never were the type to hug each other and braid each other's hair, they were more the get-up-and-go kind of family, always doing something, never really having time for the heartfelt conversations and meaningful touches.

But with Waverly being such a touchy friend, she had started getting used to it. She used to be quite closed off and serious about having her own space, but Waverly managed to open her eyes to the benefits of being more open and inviting.

She returned her sisters hug just a moment later, causing the woman to squeeze tighter happily.

Nancy wasn't quite as tall as Nicole, but other than that, they were extremely similar. Nicole had always felt like they were twins, despite the age difference. The only significant change was that Nancy had a much more sophisticated shoulder length Bob haircut, along with more sophisticated clothes. She was wearing coral tie waist tapered trousers with a plain white shirt tucked into them, along with matching white Converse shoes. It was simple, but it was still classy.

When they both pulled away, James and their two kids made their way inside too. It was kind of amusing to watch them dragging in suitcases while Nancy bounced around the flat freely.

James was dressed in black jeans and a tight tucked-in white shirt with a grey leaf print short sleeve shirt open on top. He was a tall guy, and his spikey dark hair let everyone know that he had a bit of a wild side, thought it was clear that Nancy had made him wear smarter clothes.

Thomas had on dark blue jeans and a smart little blue shirt with white stripes and white trainers while Jane had on a white summer dress with pink flowers and white sandals. They both had ginger hair and freckles, and bright blue eyes. Jane's hair was long with little curls on the ends, while Thomas' was completely curly. They looked absolutely adorable.

They both pushed past James, and each other, in an effort to reach Nicole first. Neither could wait, however, so they all ended up in one group hug. Nicole knelt down to greet them, grinning happily.

Thomas started speaking, with Jane trying to speak too, so it ended up in a jumbled heap of 'I missed you', 'I brought my toys to show you', 'we can watch films aaaall day long', 'tell Jane I'M your favorite, Auntie Nicole!" before Nancy thankfully intervened.

"You guys, Auntie Nicole will never understand you if you both talk at once!" She warned, fighting to hide her smile at all their excitement.

Nicole didn't bother to hide her laugh, turning to both kids, "You both look amazing!" She complimented, sending them into more excited rambling. She grinned more and stood up, ruffling both heads as she did. She moved to James, hugging him kindly, "It's great to see you again, James." She welcomed.

"You too, Nicole." He said, "Though I was expecting to meet this girlfriend of yours too, she's all I've heard about the whole journey here!" He exclaimed with a role of his eyes, though it was friendly. Nicole opened her mouth to reply, but was beaten to it.

"So sorry, I was just checking on dinner, it's so lovely to meet you!" Waverly offered smoothly, extending a hand for James to shake, before turning to Nancy and offering a hand to her too. Nancy sidestepped the offered hand and pulled her in for a hug instead, which Waverly didn't hesitate to return. Nicole nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

"I have heard so much about you, Waverly. You're all Nicole talks about!" Nancy teased, releasing Waverly and smiling over at Nicole who was scrunching her face up in embarrassment. Waverly turned to her too, smiling sheepishly.

"You're not Shay." Thomas said, suddenly. Nicole looked at him, before turning to look at Nancy, who had her brow furrowed. 'How does he remember her?' Nicole mouthed, receiving only a shrug from her sister.

Waverly looked at Nicole in confusion, before turning towards the boy and kneeling down. "No, I'm not Shay, I'm Waverly, and it's great to finally meet you, Thomas." She said, softly, extending a hand for him to shake too. He looked conflicted, staring down at her hand, before he looked back up at Waverly with a serious look.

"Is Auntie Nicole happy?" He asked her, tentatively.

Waverly looked over at Nicole, but looked away quickly. She seemed unsure for a moment, but seemed to gain her confidence. "Well, I know I'm very happy, but you might want to ask Auntie Nicole that yourself, Thomas." She smiled, softly. He seemed to think about it before nodding and walking over to Nicole.

"Auntie Nicole, are you happy? He asked her, causing her to kneel down again.

"Do I look happy, Thomas?" Nicole asked him, instead. He tilted his head adorably for a moment, thinking his answer through.

"I think you are, but that doesn't mean you are. Are you?" He asked, and something about it really struck Nicole, causing a lump to rise in her throat. She swallowed it down quickly, though a glance at Waverly told her that she had noticed the change.

"I'm very happy, Thomas." She smiled, reaching her hand up and ruffling his hair up once again, causing him to laugh and show his teethy smile. His smile morphed back into a serious stare, before he marched back over to Waverly.

"Can you give me your hand again, please?" He asked, politely. Waverly obliged, smiling brightly. He threw his hand into hers, gripping it firmly and shaking it. "Nice to meet you.. Way-ber-wee?" He tried, clearly forgetting her name. She grinned beautifully, returning the hand shake.

"And you, Thomas." She laughed, before looking at Nancy and saying "We can work on that.." jokingly, causing all the adults to chuckle. "And it's lovely to meet you too, Jane." Waverly cooed, trying to bring the little three year old out of her shell, noticing that she had gravitated towards her Mum at Waverly's appearance. She tried a wave, and beamed when the little girl returned it.

"Okay, we should get our stuff unpacked. Where are we staying?" Waverly stood up and looked at Nicole nervously, and Nicole immediately knew she was worried about the kids reactions to their beds.

"Right this way." Nicole stated, leading them all to the spare bedroom.

Nancy was the first to enter, gasping out a small "Wow." In surprise, quickly followed by Thomas and Jane, who both squealed in joy, running to the little makeshift forts Waverly had built.

"This one is yours, Thomas." Nicole gestured towards the bed closest to the door, though he was already making himself at home in it. Then she walked over to the over one, opened the door and tried coaxing Jane over, "This one's yours, Jane." Nicole tried, softly. The girl seemed to nervously step away from Thomas' and towards her own, grinning in delight when she saw the large unicorn teddy hiding inside. She started to run over, but paused, looking at Nicole. "Go ahead." She reassured, a toothy smile on her own face at the girl's excitement. That's all the persuading she needed before she practically leapt inside.

"Oh my god, you've kidnapped my children." Nancy started, a look of pure surprise on her face. "These beds are better than their own beds at home, they'll never come back." She deadpanned. Nicole looked over at Waverly who had been peering round the doorway, her eyes shining with pride.

"This is so cool, Auntie Nicole, thank you!" Thomas shouted, his head peeking out from the door Waverly had created out of sheets.

"I can't take the praise for this one Tommy, you should be thanking Waverly for these beds; she made them just for you." Nicole stated, smirking at his look of surprise.

He crawled his way out of the bed, looking back at it in awe, before walking over to Jane's bed too, chancing a sneaky look inside. The way he walked over to Waverly was almost comical, he was walking like he was about to deliver the most important news the world would ever see, to the president himself. Then he paused, seemingly lost for words.

"I like you." He decided on, and it looked like it was all Waverly really wanted to hear, because she was fighting off a proud grin.

"I like you too, Thomas." She replied, grinning in a way that always made Nicole's heart skip a beat. She had happy little crinkles next to her eyes and her dimples were so prominent and her smile was so joyful that Nicole couldn't help but smile too. She caught Nancy's eye though, causing her to hesitate, her smile dampening slightly. Nancy looked concerned, like she knew something Nicole didn't.

"We should let you guys get settled, I'm sure Mama and Daddy will be here soon and you don't want to still be unpacking when they arrive. I'll get us all some drinks." Nicole rushed out, making a beeline towards the door, gently pushing past everybody in the process. Waverly followed her out.

Nicole busied herself in the kitchen, getting the kids some juice and making the adults some coffee. She felt more than heard that Waverly was standing behind her, probably checking the dinner. Nicole was getting a little stuck in her own head though, focussing on what had just happened. From Thomas questioning Waverly on Shay and how happy Nicole was and then Nancy looking at Nicole with worry. It all felt like too much too soon.

"Do you think it went bad?" Waverly asked, suddenly. Nicole turned to face Waverly, who was watching over a pot of boiling vegetables. Nicole frowned, moving closer to the other woman in concern. "I just.." Waverly started, moving away from the stove. She seemed to fight over what words to say, before groaning and throwing her head in her hands. She moved them, running them through her hair instead. "You're upset." She stated, her voice sad. The happy crinkles and the deep dimples were gone. She was locking her jaw anxiously instead, which only helped to accentuate the fact that she had the sexiest jawline Nicole had ever seen in her life. "I don't want to be the reason you're sad, Nicole." Waverly finished, toying with her hands apprehensively.

Nicole wanted to tell her the truth. She wanted to tell her that this wouldn't work, that it wasn't okay. She wanted to tell her that she felt like she'd been shot at with a love dart, one that left her entirely enamoured. She wanted to tell her that this feeling felt so different to anything she had ever felt before. She wanted to tell her that she was sorry for ever putting her in this situation. She wanted to confess all her feelings all at once. But of course, she couldn't.

She couldn't because, suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Again.


	16. Chapter 16

Nicole winced, her eyes crinkling at the sides in exasperation. It was like everything was against her getting through a full conversation with Waverly. She sighed, bowing her head in defeat, before pushing herself off of the counter she'd perched herself on. Waverly looked utterly defeated, returning her attention to the dinner momentarily, before making a move to join Nicole.

Nicole moved towards the door regretfully, her body sagging sadly, knowing that their conversation wasn't over and would weigh heavily on her mind for the rest of the evening.

When she got to the door she hesitated, looking over her shoulder at Waverly, who seemed lost in thought, before Nicole turned her attention to the guest room where her sister was stood leaning against the door frame, a deep look of concern on her face. With another wistful sigh, Nicole tugged the door open.

Her mama practically shoved herself into the door without so much as a hello, causing Nicole's forehead to crease in silent irritation, before she cooled her features to let her Daddy in. He smiled at her warmly, nodding his head over to his wife and rolling his eyes in understanding, causing Nicole to smile. She hugged him tightly, only now realising just how much she had missed him. Her eyes watered slightly, but he noticed and caught the tear before it fell, smiling sadly at her.

Her Daddy had short light brown hair, and he was much shorter and bigger than her, wearing blue jeans and a large brown shirt. He was practically the opposite of her in appearance, but his attitude and sense of humour matched hers perfectly. They got on like a house on fire, and he always seemed to know just what she was thinking, even if she hadn't worked it out herself yet.

"It's dusty in here, did you not dust?" Her Mama cut through the moment forcefully, causing Nicole to grind her teeth together in disbelief. Her Mama had her ginger hair up in a pony tail; she had black jeans and a black and white striped shirt covering her slim figure. She was a stern woman, and extremely frank. It had gotten herself and Nicole in to a lot of disagreements before, and Nicole was betting that she wouldn't see the last of that, if her entrance was enough to go on.

"It's great to see you too, Mama." Nicole greeted dryly, closing the door softly before moving nearer the kitchen, subtly searching for Waverly, who seemed to have disappeared at the appearance of her Mama.

"Where's the girl? D'you get rid of her already?" Her Mama shot out coldly, glancing around the room in distain. Nicole shot her Daddy a look, but he only shook his head in disappointment. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held back, causing Nicole to frown in concern.

"She's cooking dinner, Mama. I'll go grab her." Nicole stated, keeping her tone calm and friendly in the hopes of cooling down her Mama's irritation.

"It's not right to leave a lady waiting, the girl should know that." She muttered, causing Nicole to huff quietly in anger. She let the comment go, feeling confident that Waverly would win her Mama over quickly with her kind, friendly nature. She walked over to the Kitchen, peering round the corner.

Waverly was facing away from Nicole, but she could see that the other girl was clearly nervous. She was swinging her arms, her hands balled into fists, mumbling to herself. Nicole sighed sadly, the guilt building up uncomfortably in her stomach. "Waves." Nicole called gently, catching her attention. Waverly turned around, her insecurity palpable. Nicole moved closer, battling with herself on whether to pull the woman in for a hug or not. "It's okay." She reassured, trying to hide her own nervousness for Waverly's sake. The other woman frowned hesitantly, her uncertainty obvious.

"And if she hates me?" Waverly asked, hugging herself sadly. I deep look of sympathy crossed Nicole's face, her guilt shining in her eyes. She lost her internal battle, closing the distance between them and pulling the smaller woman in for a hug.

"Then she's crazy." Nicole said, simply. She felt Waverly relax in her arms, hugging back too.

"And I have to come and find you! This is the rudest introduction I have ever had in my life." Nicole's Mama said, cutting through the moment angrily. Nicole rolled her eyes in frustration before letting Waverly go. Waverly looked terrified, and Nicole didn't blame her.

She had forgotten this side of her Mama, the bitter and resentful side, the time apart seemed to have buried all the bad memories away, making room for the few good memories they had shared. But with her Mama back, all those flaws were presenting themselves and reminding Nicole that she wasn't as sweet as her memory had fooled her into thinking.

"Mama, please." Nicole pleaded, quietly. Her Mama glared at her irritably, getting ready to talk again, but Nicole cut in. "The kids are here." She finished, begging her Mama to calm down.

Her Mama frowned, before looking in the direction of the living room, as if sensing that the kids were nearby. Suddenly, her features completely changed, a smile making its way onto her face, though it didn't seem sincere enough to fool Nicole, and definitely wouldn't fool Waverly either.

It is such a pleasure to finally meet you dear, such a shame that it was so delayed though." She greeted, moving to shake Waverly's hand, though both the gesture and her tone were laced with sarcasm, causing Nicole's eyebrow to arch up in disbelief, not understanding why her Mama was acting this way.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Ma'am. It's so exciting to meet the people that brought Nicole up and made her into the woman she is today." Waverly welcomed, her voice warm and sweet, hiding her insecurity perfectly. Nicole smiled softly at her, her pride for the other woman glowing visibly off her.

"Nicole and I share only our figure and our hair colour, her attitude and her.. Indecision.. Are Ted's doing." The woman gestured half heartedly towards Nicole's Daddy who had followed them into the kitchen area, his eyebrows flared up in silent anger. Nicole felt a lump form in her throat, but swallowed it down forcefully, refusing to admit defeat.

"I am proud to have Daddy's attitude, I wouldn't change it for the world." Nicole threw on a sickly sweet smile her Mama's way, before giving her Daddy a much more genuine smile. "Waverly, this is my Daddy." Nicole stated with pride, putting her hand on the small of Waverly's back to lead her over to the man.

"It's truly a pleasure, Sir." Waverly offered, simply, but with complete sincerity. The man smiled warmly, nodding softly before moving closer.

"The name's Ted, no need for formalities here. Nicole's the smartest person I know.." Ted started, only to be interrupted.

"What about me!" Nancy shouted from the other room, clearly joking.

"Stop eavesdropping, kid!" Her Daddy shouted, before returning to the previous conversation. "ONE of the smartest people I know.." He began, with a shake of his head at his other daughter's antics, before continuing "And I wholeheartedly believe that she wouldn't pick a wrong'n." He finished, smiling brightly. Waverly grinned, her relief shining. Nicole thanked the heavens in that moment for her Daddy, who had managed to make Waverly smile just moments after being put in such an uncomfortable situation.

Nancy poked her head round the door, smiling over at Nicole reassuringly, before asking, "So, when's dinner?"

********

So, this was hands down one of the most awkward dinner's Nicole had ever had. And she'd been to a surprisingly large amount of awkward dinners, like the time Wynonna had made two chickens and positioned them together.. Inappropriately. Or that time when Wynonna had burned the dinner because she'd disappeared upstairs with Dolls, behaving very inappropriately, and doing so very loudly. Or there was that time when Wynonna thought she had been cooking a batch of cupcakes only to find that they weren't in the oven, they were in the freezer..

There's a theme here.

But Nicole is certain that this takes the cake. Her Mama was ranting angrily about every aspect of Nicole's flat, her Daddy was glaring at her Mama for being rude, Nancy was laughing at Daddy's frown, the kids were frowning at their Mommy laughing so loud, James was too busy eating to care and Waverly just looked really frightened.

"Waverly, this is so nice; I've never had such a good vegetarian lasagne before in my life!" James complimented, causing a smile to work its way onto Waverly's face. Just as she started to thank him for his kindness though, Nicole's Mama cut in.

"There should be an option for everybody, no one can live on vegetables." She muttered, stabbing the food like it was her enemy. The frown fell off of Waverly's face, causing Nicole to grind her teeth angrily.

"Well I'd definitely eat this for the rest of my life if I could." Nicole stated, winking Waverly's way. Waverly grinned at her happily, clearly grateful that Nicole stuck up for her.

"Well aren't you both lucky that forever's on the cards then?" Ted said, smiling warmly. The smile fell when his wife scoffed loudly, his eyes moving to her.

"Unlikely." Was all Nicole's mama said, taking another stab at the food for good measure. "So, Waverly, you're an Earp, huh?" She directed Waverly's way, causing the girl to look up from her food, gulping nervously. She nodded her answer, everybody sensing the tense energy. "I've heard things about the Earp's." She finished with distain.

That's when the other shoe finally dropped for Nicole, her Mama was judging Waverly because of her family's history. It was no secret that Waverly's great grandfather had caused quite the stir in Purgatory when he was a young man. He was into his drink and his women, and nothing else. Waverly's father had gone down exactly the same road, too. Both men inevitably dying from both the alcohol and bad choices. Waverly had worked hard her whole life to avoid the judgement, to get past the presumptions other people forced on her and her sisters. And yet here was Nicole's Mama, doing exactly that. Nicole felt absolutely mortified.

"Mama." Nicole warned, her tone cuttingly serious.

"What?" she challenged, looking at Nicole angrily. Her voice was quiet, but it had a bite to it that made Nicole feel sick. "Family means everything, I won't have alcohol and carelessness weave its way into mine." She spat irritably, putting her cutlery down loudly.

"Waverly is her own person, she carries her own life with her, no one else's. Nobody should have to carry anybody else's mistakes, and it isn't fair for you to even try to put that on her shoulders. I won't stand for it, not in my home, not with my girlfriend. Clear?" Nicole stated, defiantly. She was shaking with anger, though she kept her voice calm for the sake of the children, who seemed to have picked up on the atmosphere, no longer eating.

Her Mama looked at her with a fiery stare, though she chose not continue the argument, throwing out a simple "Crystal clear," Instead. She tilted her head, smiling nastily at Nicole, then at Waverly, before picking her cutlery up and continuing to eat in silence.

Nicole sighed, relief flooding her. She looked at Nancy, who raised her eyebrow in confusion. Nicole looked away, turning to look at Waverly instead.

She looked like she might run away any minute, her hands were clenched together, her knuckles white, completely tense. Nicole reached over, leaning her arm on the back of Waverly's chair, letting her hand stroke the back of Waverly's neck, hoping she'll find some comfort in the gesture. She switched between raking her fingers through the little baby hairs and just softly stroking her finger tips up and down her neck. She noticed it working, because Waverly began to relax, and she was certain she felt Goosebumps too. Nicole moved her hand, letting it land over Waverly's joint hands instead, tugging them away from each other and entwining their fingers together. Waverly finally looked up from her food, chancing a glance Nicole's way, smiling hesitantly. Nicole shot a big smile her way, causing the other girls smile to brighten too.

"Auntie Nicole?" Thomas called, causing both girls to turn his way in question.

"Yes, buddy?" Nicole asked, tilting her head, encouraging him to continue.

"Can we watch An American Tail after we've eaten? Pleaseeee?" He begged, causing Nicole to grin. She shot out a happy 'Ha!' directed Waverly's way, mouthing an 'I told you so' with a self-satisfied smirk for good measure, causing Waverly to giggle softly.

"I don't see why not, Bud. Only if you eat all those vegetables though!" Nicole teased, winking at him. He gasped and began shovelling his food down as fast as possible, causing Nicole to snicker. Nancy huffed, though a smile tugged at her mouth too.

"Why're you so much better at looking after my kids than I am?" She grumbled, hiding her laugh behind a groan.

Nicole only shrugged triumphantly, quietly humming 'Somewhere Out There' to herself, causing Waverly's smile to morph into a full blown grin.

Maybe they could still salvage what was left of this dinner.


End file.
